DE BELLO JUDAICO
LIBER SECUNDUS |
THE JEWISH WAR
BOOK TWO |
Palæstina
with locations mentioned by Josephus
 |
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| Book 2 |
| From the Death of Herod till Vespasian was sent to subdue the Jews by Nero. |
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| ⇑ § I |
Archelaus epulum funebre
populo pro Herode dat. Mox,
seditione a multitudine excitata,
milites in eos immittit,
qui ad tria hominum milia
interficiunt. | Archelaus makes a funeral feast for the people, on the account of Herod. After which a great tumult is raised by the multitude and he sends the soldiers out upon them, who destroy about three thousand of them. |
| 1 |
— Caput B-1 —
De successoribus Herodis, et ultione direptæ aureæ Aquilæ. |
| Turbarum autem novarum principium fuit Archelao Romam proficiscendi necessitas. Diebus enim septem in lugendo patrem consumptis, epulisque feralibus prolixe populo exhibitis (hic autem mos apud Judæos necessario multos ad inopiam redegit ; nam qui neglexerat, impius æstimabatur), candida veste indutus procedit ad Templum. Ibique variis favoribus exceptus a plebe, ipse quoque in excelso tribunali, solioque aureo resĭdens, humanissime vulgus admisit ; eisque et quod sepulturam patris sedulo curavissent, gratias egit, et quod sibi quasi certo jam regi, magnos honores habuissent. Verum se tamen, ait, non potestate solum interim, sed etiam ipso regis nomine temperare, donec a Cæsare sibi confirmata fuerit successio, qui etiam testamento, rerum esset omnium dominus constitutus. Idcirco enim se apud Hierichunta voluntati exercitus restitisse, quum sibi diadema voluisset imponere. Ceterum pro alacritate ac benevolentia, æque militibus ac populo plenam se vicissitudinem relaturum, si ab his quorum etiam esset imperium certus rex declaratus fuisset ; studiumque sibi esse, ut erga illos rebus omnibus patre melior appararet. |
Archelaus was involved in fresh disturbances by the necessity of visiting Rome. He had spent a week mourning his father, and had provided the funeral feast for the populace on the most lavish scale — a custom which is the ruin of many Jews: they are obliged to feed the populace to escape the charge of impiety. Now he changed into white garments and proceeded to the Temple, where the people received him with varied acclamations. In reply he waved to the crowd from a golden throne on a raised platform, and thanked them heartily for the great pains they had taken with his father’s funeral, and the respect they had already shown to himself as if he were already established as king. However, for the present he was going to forbear assuming the royal power or even the title until his succession had been confirmed by Cæsar, who by the terms of Herod’s will was in supreme control. At Jericho also, when the army had tried to set the crown on his head, he had refused it; however, for their enthusiastic loyalty he would render full payment to soldiers and people alike as soon as the supreme authorities had established him as king; he would endeavor in every way to show himself kinder to them than his father had been. |
| 2 |
| His gavisa multitudo statim ejus mentem magnis temptare petitionibus cœpit. Namque alii tributa levari, alii vectigalia tolli, quidam solvi custodias acclamabant. Cunctis autem postulatis in gratiam populi facile annuebat Archelaus. Deinde celebratis hostiis, cum Amicis erat in epulis. Ecce autem subito post meridiem congregati non pauci novarum rerum studiosi, ubi communis luctus de rege cessavit, propria lamenta suscipiunt, flentes eorum casum quos propter abscisam ex porta templi aquilam auream Herodes morte damnaverat. Dolor autem non occultus erat, sed clarissimis questibus, fletuque justo et planctu Civitas personabat, virorum causa videlicet quos pro Templo ac legibus patriis interiisse dicebant. Eorum autem mortis pœnas ab illis quos Herodes pecunia donasset repetendas esse clamitabant : ac primum, quem is constituerat pontificem rejiciendum, aliumque pietate præstantem, magisque purum optari debere. |
This promise delighted the crowd, who at once tested his sincerity by making large demands. Some clamored for a lightening of direct taxation, some for the abolition of purchase-tax, others for the release of prisoners. He promptly agreed to every demand in his anxiety to appease the mob. Then he offered sacrifices and sat down to a banquet with the Associates. But in the afternoon — lo and behold! — a number of men with revolutionary ideas gathered and began lamentations of their own when the public mourning for the late king was over, bewailing the deaths of those who had been executed by Herod for cutting down the golden eagle from the gate of the Sanctuary. These were not secret lamentations but very loud wails, formal crying, and breastbeating, that resounded throughout the whole City, as they were for men who, they said, had died for the laws of their country and for the Sanctuary. To avenge them they clamored for the punishment of those whom Herod had monetarily rewarded, and above all the removal of the man whom he had appointed pontiff; for it was their duty to choose a man of great piety and with cleaner hands. |
| 3 |
| Quibus etsi movebatur Archelaus ad ultionem, tamen eum profectionis festinatio continebat, metuentem, ne sibi multitudinem reddidisset inimicam, motu ejus impediretur. Quamobrem monendo magis quam vi experiebatur sedare turbatos : missoque magistro militum, ut quiescerent, eos rogabat. Sed illum seditionis auctores, ubi ad Templum venit, priusquam verbum faceret, lapidibus proturbarunt : et aliis post eum mulcendi sui gratia missis — multos enim legabat Archelaus — iracunde omnia responderunt : neque si numero aucti fuissent, otiosi fore videbantur. Itaque instante azymorum die festo qui apud Judæos « Pascha » vocitatur, plurima victimarum copia plenus, infinita quidem ad Templum ex agris multitudo religionis causa descendit, quum illi qui sophistas lugebant in Templo consisterent, nutrimenta seditioni quærentes. Hoc autem metu Archelaus, antequam omnem populum morbus iste corrumperet, cohortem militum et tribunum, qui etiam seditionis principes comprehenderent, eo dirigit ; contra quos omne vulgus excitatum multos lapidum ictibus interfecit : saucius vero tribunus vix elabitur. Et illi quidem statim, veluti nihil mali actum esset, ad celebranda sacra conversi sunt. Sed Archelao sine cæde jam multitudo comprimi non posse videbatur. Quamobrem totum illis immisit exercitum, pedites per Civitatem simul omnes, equitesque per campum : qui quum sacrificiis occupatos singulos invasissent, prope ad tria milia hominum occidunt ; reliquam vero manum per montes proximos disjecerunt. Præcones autem sequebantur Archelaum, jussu ejus unumquemque, ut domum recederet, admonendo. Itaque cuncti, neglecta diei festivitate, abiere. |
This infuriated Archelaus, but he held his hand in view of the urgency to begin his journey, fearing that if he aroused the hostility of the populace the consequent disturbance might delay his departure. He therefore tried to quiet the rebels by persuasion rather than by force, and privately sent his commander-in-chief to ask them to desist. The officer came to them in the Temple, but before he could utter a word the rioters stoned him and drove him away, doing the same to others whom Archelaus sent after him to secure quiet. To every appeal — for Archelaus sent many emissaries to them — they made a furious response, and it was evident that they would not be idle if their numbers were enlarged. Moreover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was approaching — known to the Jews as the “Passover,” and celebrated with sacrifices on a vast scale — and there was a huge influx from the country for the festival. Meanwhile those who were bewailing the dead rabbis massed in the Temple, seeking fuel for sedition. This frightened Archelaus who, to prevent the disease from infecting the whole population, sent a tribune with his cohort to restrain by force the leaders of the sedition. Their approach infuriated the whole mob, who stoned and killed many; the tribune, wounded, barely escaped. Then right away, as if nothing bad had occurred, they turned to sacrifice. Archelaus realized that the crowd could no longer be restrained without bloodshed; so he sent his whole army against them, the infantry in a body through the City, the cavalry through the countryside. As all the men were sacrificing the soldiers suddenly swooped on them, killing about 3,000, and scattered the remainder among the neighboring hills. Archelaus’ heralds followed him, ordering everyone to go home; and home they all went, abandoning the Feast. |
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| ⇑ § II |
Archelaus
cum magna cognatorum turba
Romam proficiscitur.
Ibi ab Antipatro
apud Augustum accusatus
causam vincit,
defendente eum Nicolao. | Archelaus goes to Rome with a great number of his kindred. He is there accused before Cæsar by Antipater ; but is superior to his accusers in judgment by the means of that defense which Nicolaus made for him. |
| 1 |
| Ipse autem cum matre, necnon et Popla et Ptolemæo et Nicolao amicis, ad mare descendit, relicto Philippo regni procuratore, itemque rerum familiarium curatore. Una vero egressa est cum filiis suis Salome, fratrisque regis filii generque, specie velut Archelao ad obtinendam successionem adjumento futuri, certa vero causa, quæ contra leges in Templum admissa fuerant, delaturi. |
Archelaus with his mother and three of his Associates — Poplas, Ptolemy and Nicolas — went down to the sea, leaving Philip as governor of the Palace and custodian of his property. He was accompanied by Salome and her children and by the late king’s nephews and sons-in-law, who professed the intention of supporting his claim to the throne, but whose real purpose was to denounce him for his lawless actions in the Temple. |
| 2 |
| Interea fit illis Cæsareæ obviam Sabinus, Syriæ procurator, ad Judæam veniens, ad pecunias custodiendas Herodis, quem ulterius progredi Varus inhibuit, multis accitus Archelai precibus, intercedente Ptolemæo. Et tunc quidem Sabinus in gratiam Vari, neque ad arces venire properavit, neque thesauros paternæ pecuniæ clausit Archelao sed, usque ad cognitionem Cæsaris se otiosum esse pollicitus, apud Cæsaream commorabatur. Postea vero quam sibi obstantium unus Antiochiam petiit, alter — hoc est, Archelaus — Romam navigavit, mature profectus in Hierosolymam, regiam tenet. Custodumque principibus itemque dispensatoribus evocatis, rationes pecuniarum discutere conabatur, et arces occupare temptabat. Non tamen immemores Archelai mandatorum custodes erant, sed in observando singula quæque perseverabant, causam custodiæ magis Cæsari quam Archelao tribuentes. |
At Cæsarea they were met by Sabinus the procurator of Syria, who was on his way to Judæa to take charge of Herod’s estate but was prevented from going further by the arrival of Varus, whom Ptolemy on Archelaus’ behalf had begged to come. So for the time being Sabinus, in deference to Varus’ wishes, neither hastened to the citadels nor locked Archelaus out of his father’s treauries, but promised to postpone any action until Cæsar had reached a decision, and remained at Cæsarea. But as soon as restraint was removed by the return of Varus to Antioch and the departure of Archelaus for Rome, he promptly set out for Jerusalem, where he took possession of the Palace and, sending for the garrison commanders and comptrollers, tried to sort out the property accounts and to take possession of the citadels. However, the officers were loyal to Archelaus’ instructions and continued to guard everything in the name of Cæsar rather than of Archelaus. |
| 3 |
| Ad hoc autem Antipas quoque de regno certabat, posteriore superius Herodis testamentum firmius esse defendens, in quo rex ipse Antipas fuerat scriptus : eique se tam Salome quam multi alii cognati qui cum Archelao navigarant suffragio fore promiserant. Ducebat autem secum matrem, fratremque Nicolai Ptolemæum, in quo pro fide apud Herodem probata, nonnihil videbatur esse momenti. Namque illi fuerat amicorum carissimus. Oratori autem Irenæo propter dicendi acrimoniam plurimum confidebat. Unde etiam qui se monuerant ut Archelao pro ætatis merito et secundi testamenti voluntate cederet, audiendos esse non censuit. Romæ vero migraverunt ad eum cunctorum studia propinquorum quibus invisus erat Archelaus, quique præcipue liberi omnes suique juris esse cupiebant, et aut Romano magistratu administrari, aut si hoc non impetrarent, Antipam regem habere. |
Meanwhile Antipas also was strenuously laying claim to the kingdom, insisting that Herod’s earlier will, not the later one, was valid, and that this named him king. He had a promise of support from Salome and many of the relatives who were sailing with Archelaus. He tried also to win over his mother and Nicolaus’ brother Ptolemy, who seemed a weighty supporter in view of the trust Herod had reposed in him; for he had been the most honored of Herod’s Associates. But he placed most confidence in the keen eloquence of Irenæus the orator; he therefore disregarded those who advised him to give way to Archelaus as the elder brother, named in the later will. In Rome all the relatives, who detesed Archelaus, transferred their allegiance to Antipas. They all wanted to be free and autonomous, and either to be governed under a Roman protectorate or, if they could not get that, to have the king be Antipas. |
| 4 |
| Ad hoc etiam Sabini ope nitebatur Antipas, qui Archelaum per epistolas accusaverat apud Cæsarem, Antipam vero multum laudaverat. Itaque digesta crimina Salome et ceteri qui cum ea sentirent, Cæsari tradiderunt, et post eos Archelaus gestorum suorum perscripta capitula, patrisque anulum per Ptolemæum, rationesque administrationis intromisit ad Cæsarem. Ille autem secum præmeditans ea quæ ab utraque parte dicerentur, ubi et regni magnitudinem, multitudinemque redituum animadvertit, atque insuper Herodis familiam numerosam, perlectis etiam Vari ac Sabini litteris, optimates Romanorum ad concilium vocat, in quo tunc primum ex Agrippa ac filia sua natum Gajum sedere jussit, filium adoptivum : atque ita partibus prosequendi copiam dedit. |
In these endeavors Antipas was aided by Sabinus, who sent letters denouncing Archelaus to Cæsar and lavishing praise on Antipas. Salome and her friends arranged all the charges and put the file in Cæsar’s hands. Then Archelaus in his turn sent Ptolemy with a written summary of his own claims, his father’s ring, and the official records. Cæsar, having considered in private the rival dossiers, the size of the kingdom, the value of the revenue, and also the number of Herod’s children, read the dispatches from Varus and Sabinus about the matter. Then he summoned a council of Roman officials, giving a seat on it for the first time to Gajus — son of Agrippa and his own daughter Julia, and adopted by him — and invited the disputants to put their case. |
| 5 |
| Igitur Salomes filius Antipater (namque is erat orator acerrimus eorum qui adversabantur Archelao) accusationem proposuit, insimulans Archelaum, quasi verbis quidem de regno videretur contendere, re autem vera jamdudum rex esset effectus, et apud aures modo Cæsaris cavillaretur quem judicem successionis expectare noluisset. Nam post Herodis mortem, quibusdam ut diadema sibi imponerent subornatis, regis eum more in solio aureo residentem, partim ordines militiæ permutasse, partim condonasse promotiones ; et insuper his omnia annuisse populo, quæ velut a rege impetranda petiisset : maximorumque reos criminum quos pater suus vinxerat, absolvisse : qui quum ista fecisset, modo regni umbram a Domino postulaturus venisset, cujus sibi corpus ipse rapuisset, ut non rerum, sed vocabulorum dominum esse Cæsarem demonstraret. Ad hæc ei, quod etiam luctum patris assimulasset, objiciebat. Quum interdiu quidem personam componeret in mærorem, noctu vero ad comissationes usque potaret. Denique seditionem vulgi ex hac indignatione conflatam esse dicebat. Totius enim orationis suæ vires, eorum multitudine qui circa Templum cæsi fuerant astruebat. Hos enim ad diem festum quidem venisse ; ad hostias vero quas ipsi mactandas venerant, crudeliter esse jugulatos : tantumque in Templo funerum esse congestum, quantum nullum ab externis illatum bellum implacabile congessisset. Itaque hujus crudelitatis Herode præscio, ne spe quidem regni unquam eum dignum esse visum nisi quum sanæ mentis inops erat, animo deterius ægrotante quam corpore, et quem in secundo testamento successorem scriberet, ignorabat : præsertim, qui priore testamento successorem scriptum incusare nihil posset quod, incolumi corpore omnique vitio purgata mente, fecisset. Ut tamen quis firmius esse ponat morbo laborantis arbitrium, ipsum se Archelaum abdicasse regia dignitate, multis in eam contra leges admissis. ¿ Nam qualem fore si acciperet a Cæsare principatum qui, antequam acciperet, tantum populum peremisset ? |
Salome’s son Antipater at once rose. The sharpest speaker among Archelaus’ opponents, he pointed out that, though professedly Archelaus was only laying claim to the throne, actually he had been reigning for a long time, so that it was mockery now to have an audience with Cæsar, whose decision on the succession he had not waited for. As soon as Herod was dead he had secretly bribed certain persons to crown him; he had sat is state on the throne and given audience as a king; he had altered the organization of the army and granted promotions. Furthermore, he had conceded to the people everything for which they had petitioned him as though a king, and had released men whom his father had imprisoned for shocking crimes. And now he had come to ask his master for the shadow of that kingship of which he had himself snatched the substance, allowing Cæsar control not of realities but of names. Antipater also alleged that his mourning for his father was a sham — that in the daytime he assumed a mask of grief and at night indulged in drunken orgies, which had aroused indignation and caused popular unrest. The speaker directed the whole force of his argument to the number of people killed around the Sanctuary, who had come to the Feast only to be brutally murdered alongside their own sacrifices — such a huge heap of corpses in the Temple courts as one would scarcely have expected to see if a savage invasion by foreigners had piled it up. Recognizing this vein of cruelty in his son, Herod had never given him the least hope of succeeding to the throne till his mind became more decayed than his body, and he was incapable of logical thought and did not realize what sort of man he was making his heir by his new will, though he had no fault to find with the heir in the earlier one, written when his health was good and his mind quite unimpaired. As far as anyone making more valid the decision of a man suffering from a sickness is concerned, Archelaus had himself abdicated the dignity of kingship due to the many illegalities he had perpetrated against it; what would he be like after receiving authority from Cæsar, when he had put so many to death before receiving it? |
| 6 |
| Multa in hunc modum prosecutus Antipater, multis ex numero circumstantium propinquorum in singula crimina testibus exhibitis peroravit. Surrexit autem Nicolaus defensor Archelai, et ante omnia cædem in Templo necessario factam esse perdocuit ; nam quorum necis argueretur, non regni solum, sed etiam ipsius judicis — id est, Cæsaris — hostes fuisse : aliorum autem criminum suasores adversarios ipsos demonstravit. Secundum vero testamentum idcirco ratum manere postulabat, quod Herodes in eo successoris sui firmatorem Cæsarem constituisset. Nam qui tantum saperet, ut rerum Domino potestate sua cederet, nec unquam in heredis errasse judicio, sed sano corde quem constitueret elegisse, qui per quem constitui deberet non ignoravit. |
After continuing in this veign at considerable length and bringing forward most of the relatives to witness the truth of each accusation, Antipater sat down. Then Nicolas rose to defend Archelaus and argued that the slaughter in the Temple was unavoidable, for those killed had been enemies not only of the crown but of Cæsar who was now awarding it. The other measures with which he was charged had been taken on the advice of the accusers themselves! As for the later will, he claimed that it was proved valid primarily by the fact that in it Cæsar was appointed executor; a man sensible enough to put the management of his affairs into the hands of the supreme ruler would never make an error in the choice of an heir; the man to be designated heir was chosen with a sane mind by a man who was not unaware of him through whom that heir had to be designated. |
| 7 |
| Quum autem omnibus expositis, etiam Nicolaus perorasset, in medium progressus Archelaus, ad genua Cæsaris accidit ocius. Quo perbenigne Cæsar erecto, quod paterna quidem successione dignus esset, ostendit ; certum vero nihil pronuntiavit. Sed illo die dimisso concilio, secum ipse de cognitis deliberabat, utrum ex his qui testamento continerentur, aliquem regni oporteret constitui successorem, an toti familiæ distribui principatum. Multitudo enim personarum egere subsidio videbatur. |
When Nicolas too had had his say, Archelaus came forward and quickly fell down at Cæsar’s knees. The emperor raised him up in the most gracious manner and declared that he deserved to succeed his father, but made no definite announcement. After dismissing those who had formed his council that day, he thought over in private what he had been told, considering whether to appoint one of those named in the wills to succeed Herod, or to divide the power among the whole family; for a large number of individuals seemed to be in need of help. |
|
| ⇑ § III |
Judæos inter et Sabinianos
pugna acris,
et magna strages Hierosolymis. | The Jews fight a great battle with Sabinus’s soldiers, and a great destruction is made at Jerusalem. |
| 1 |
— Caput B-2 —
De pugna et strage Hierosolymis inter Judæos et Sabinianos |
| Sed antequam de his quicquam statueretur a Cæsare, mater Archelai Malthace, morbo correpta, moritur. Et variæ litteræ de Syria perlatæ sunt, Judæos defecisse nuntiantes : quod Varus fore prospiciens in Hierosolymam, postquam Archelaus navigarat, ascendit, ut incentores seditionis prohiberet. Et quia multitudo cessatura non videbatur, ex tribus quas ex Syria duxerat secum legionibus, unam in Civitate reliquit : atque ita in Antiochiam ipse remeavit. At Sabinus, quum postea in Hierosolymam venisset, causas novarum rerum Judæis præbuit : modo vim custodibus, ut sibi arces traderent, adhibendo, nunc maligne regis exquirendo pecunias. Non autem solis relictis a Varo militibus fretus erat, sed etiam servorum suorum multitudine, quos etiam omnes armatos avaritiæ ministros habebat. Festo autem quinquagesimo die, quæ « Pentecoste » a Judæis vocatur, septies septem diebus exactis rediens, ex eorum numero vocabulum nacta, non religionis sollemnitas populum, sed indignatio congregavit. Denique concursus infinitæ multitudinis ex Galilæa, itemque Idumæa et Hierichunte, transque Jordanem positis regionibus, factus est : quum indigena ex ipsa Civitate populus Judæorum, et numero simul et alacritate præstaret : et tripartita manu terna castra collocaverunt, una in Septentrionali regione Templi, altera in meridionali, Hippodromum versus, tertiaque in occiduo prope regiam tractu, circumsessosque Romanos undique obsidebant. |
Before Cæsar could reach a decision, Archelaus’ mother Malthace died of an illness, and a number of letters arrived from Varus in Syria reporting that the Jews had defected. He had seen this coming, and so when Archelaus has sailed, he had gone to Jerusalem to restrain the inciters, as it was obvious that the populace would not remain quiet. Then, leaving in the City one of the three legions he had brought from Syria, he returned to Antioch. However, when Sabinus arrived in Jerusalem afterwards, he gave the people an excuse for rebellion. He used force to get the garrison to hand over the forts and made a ruthless search for the king’s money, employing not only the soldiers left by Varus but a gang of his own slaves, arming them all and using them as instruments of his avarice. On the feast of the fiftieth day, called “Pentecost” by the Jews — which takes place after seven times seven days {(after the Passover)}, taking its name from their number) — the people assembled, not to conduct the usual rites but to vent their wrath. An enormous crowd gathered from Galilee and Idumæa, from Jericho and the regions across the Jordan; while the indigenous Jewish population from the City itself surpassed them in number and enthusiasm. The whole mass split up into three divisions which established themselves in separate camps, one to the north of the Temple, one to the south facing the Hippodrome, and the third near the Palace to the west. Thus they surrounded the Romans and began to blockade them. |
| 2 |
| Sabinus autem multitudine pariter eorumque spiritu perterritus, crebris quidem Varum nuntiis precabatur, ut quam mature ferret auxilium, quasi occasione delenda legione, si quid moræ intervenisset. Ipse vero in altissimam castelli turrim, quæ Phasaëlus vocabatur, evadit, fratris Herodis cognominem, quem Parthi necaverunt. Hinc legionariis, ut in hostes irruerent, signum dabat. Nam præ timore nec ad eos quibus ipse præerat, descendere audebat. Ejus autem præcepto milites obœdientes, in Templum volant, vehementique cum Judæis pugna confligunt : in qua dum nemo desuper adjuvaret, imperitos belli peritia superabant. Postea vero quam multi Judæi porticibus occupatis, a vertice telis eos appetebant, plurimi conterebantur : et neque ex alto jaculantes ulcisci facile poterant, neque comminus dimicantes ferebant. |
Both their numbers and determination alarmed Sabinus, who sent a stream of messengers to Varus to request assistance as soon as possible: if it was delayed, the legion would be cut to pieces. He himself went up to the highest tower of the fortress, the one called Phasaël after Herod’s brother who had died at the hands of the Parthians. From there he signalled to the legionaries to attack the enemy, for he was too panic-stricken even to go down to his own men. Doing as they were told, the soldiers dashed into the Temple and engaged in a fierce combat with the Jews, in which, as long as no one shot at them from above, their experience of war gave them the advantage. But when many of the Jews climbed on to the top of the colonnades and attacked them with missiles from above, casualties were heavy, and they could neither easily get even with those attacking from above nor resist those who fought them hand to hand. |
| 3 |
| Ab utrisque tamen afflicti, succendunt porticus, opere magnitudine atque ornatu mirabiles. Ibique tum multi flamma subito comprehensi aut ea consumebantur, aut in hostes desilientes ab ipsis occidebantur ; alii retrorsum cedentes præcipitabantur ex muro ; nonnulli, desperata salute, incendii periculum suis gladiis præveniebant. Qui tamen ex mœnibus obrependo in Romanos fecissent impetum, metu attoniti nullo negotio subigebantur, donec omnibus, aut interemptis aut timore disjectis, thesauro Dei defensoribus destituto manus milites attulerunt, et XL• ex eo talenta diripuere ; quorum quæ furto sublata non sunt, conquisivit Sabinus. |
Hard pressed from both directions, the soldiers set fire to the colonnades, works remarkable for both size and magnificence. The men on top were suddenly hemmed in by the flames: many of them were burnt to death; many others jumped down among the enemy and were destroyed by them; some turned about and flung themselves from the wall; a few, seeing no way of escape, fell on their own swords and forestalled the flames; a number who crept down from the walls and, frenzied with terror, made an attack on the Romans were overpowered without trouble. After they had all been either killed or dispersed in fear, the soldiers got their hands on the unguarded treasury of God and carried off forty talents; what they did not steal Sabinus gathered up. |
| 4 |
| At Judæos multo plures, magisque pugnaces, tam virorum quam opum interitus in Romanos contraxit. Obsessaque his regia, minitabuntur exitium, nisi quam primum inde secederent — Sabino, si vellet, una cum legione abeundi copiam pollicentes. Quibus opitulabantur regiorum plurimi qui ad eos sponte transfugerant. Pars tamen bellicosior erat, Sebastenorum tria milia, hisque Rufus et Gratus præpositi, unus peditum rector, at vero equitum Rufus : quorum uterque vi corporis atque prudentia, etiam si nullam manum obœdientem haberent, magnum tamen momentum belli Romanis addidissent. Itaque Judæi quidem instare obsidioni, simul et castelli mœnia temptantes, et ad Sabinum clamantes ut discederet neu impediret habituros tanto post tempore patriam libertatem. Sabinus autem, quamvis optaret evadere, fidem tamen pollicitationibus non habebat : sed eorum lenitatem, insidiarum esse illecebram suspicabatur : simulque auxilium Vari sperans, obsidionis periculum perferebat. |
But the loss of men and property attracted many more Jews, and more bellicose ones, to oppose the Romans. They surrounded the Palace and threatened to destroy all its occupants unless they withdrew forthwith, but promised safe conduct to Sabinus if he was prepared to take his legion away. They were reinforced by the bulk of the royal troops, who had deserted to them. But the most warlike section, 3,000 men from Sebaste with their officers, Rufus and Gratus, attached themselves to the Romans. Gratus commanded the royal infantry, Rufus the cavalry; each of them, even without the men under him, with his physical strength and mental ability, would have provided the Romans with the dominant warfighting power. The Jews conducted a vigorous siege, assaulting the walls of the fortress and at the same time vociferously urging Sabinus and his soldiers to withdraw and not to keep the Jews from at long last recovering their ancestral independence. Sabinus would have been only too glad to withdraw quietly, but he distrusted their promises and suspected that their soft words were a bait to catch him. As he was also expecting Varus’ reinforcements, he continued to hold out. |
|
| ⇑ § IV |
Tumultuantur Herodis veterani.
Judæ latronia.
Simon et Athrongæus
regium nomen invadunt. | Herod’s veteran soldiers become tumultuous. The robberies of Judas. Simon and Athrongæus take the name of king upon them. |
| 1 |
| Eodem tempore per Judæam plurimis locis tumultus erat, multosque ad regni cupidinem tempus impulerat. Nam in Idumæa quidem duo milia veteranorum, qui sub Herode militaverant, congregati, armisque instructi cum regiis decertabant : quibus Achiabus, regis consobrinus, ex vicis munitissimis repugnabat, campestre prœlium declinando. In Sepphori autem Galilææ, Judas, filius Ezechiæ latronum principis, ab Herode quondam rege capti, qui tunc illas regiones vastaverat, non parva multitudine collecta, ruptisque regiis armamentariis, et omnibus quos circa se habebat armatis, contra potentiæ cupidos manus movebat. |
Meanwhile in the country districts also there were widespread disturbances and many seized the opportunity to go after the throne. In Idumæa 2,000 of Herod’s veterans reassembled with their arms and proceeded to fight the royal troops. They were opposed by Achiab, a cousin of the late king; he sheltered behind the strongest fortifications and would not risk a battle in the open. At Sepphoris in Galilee Judas, son of Hezekiah — a bandit chief who once overran the country and had been captured by King Herod — collected a considerable force, broke into the royal amory, equipped his followers, and attacked the other seekers after power. |
| 2 |
| Trans flumen quoque Simon quidam ex regiis servis pulchritudine simul et vastitate corporis fretus, imposito sibi diademate, cum latronibus quos congregaverat ipse circumiens, et apud Hierichunta regiam et multa alia magnifica deversoria igni corrupit, facilem sibi prædam ex incendio comparans. Omnesque habitationes, quibus aliquid decoris erat, concremasset, nisi Gratus, regiorum peditum rector, ex Trachone sagittarios itemque Sebastenorum pugnacissimos ducens, properasset occurrere. Ubi peditum quidem in pugna multi consumpti sunt ; ipse autem Simonem compendio prævenit, ardua valle fugientem, et ex transverso percussum in cervice dejecit. Incensæ sunt autem et quæcunque Jordani proximæ fuerunt sedes regiæ, apud Betharantes, quorundam aliorum manu conflata ex locis ulterioribus. |
On the other side of the Jordan, Simon, one of the royal slaves, considered that his good looks and great stature entitled him to set a crown on his own head. Then he went around with a band of robbers and burnt down the palace at Jericho and many magnificent lodgings, securing easy plunder for himself out of the flames. He would have reduced every elegant building to ashes had not Gratus, commander of the royal infantry, taken the archers from Trachonitis and the most battle-hardened troops from Sebaste and rushed to confront him. At that point many of his foot soldiers were killed; Gratus himself headed off Simon, who was fleeing via a steep ravine and, hitting him sideways in the neck, laid him low. But whatever palaces were near the Jordan at Beth Haram were burnt down by another gang from further out. |
| 3 |
| Tunc enim pastor quidam, cui nomen Athrongæus, regnum affectare ausus est ; quod ut speraret, vi corporis animæque fiducia mortem contemnentis impulsus est, ac præterea fratrum quattuor sibi similium robore, quorum singulis tanquam ducibus et satrapis attributa manu armatorum, ad incursus utebatur. Ipse autem veluti rex majora negotia procurabat. Et tum quidem etiam diadema sibi imposuit. Non parvo autem post tempore, cum fratribus suis vastando territoria, et occidendo præcipue Romanos, itemque regios perseveravit : quum nec Judæorum quisquam effugeret, qui lucrum aliquod ferens venisset in manus. Ausi sunt etiam apud Ammauntem repertum Romanorum agmen circumvenire, qui frumenta legioni atque arma portabant. Ubi Arium quidem centurionem et quadraginta fortissimos jaculis confecere : ceteri vero in eodem periculo constituti, auxilio Grati, qui cum Sebastenis advenit, elapsi sunt. Multis in hunc modum contra indigenas, itemque alienigenas per omne bellum gestis, post aliquod tempus tres ex his comprehensi sunt — natu quidem maximus ab Archelao, duo vero, qui ætate sequebantur, in manus Grati ac Ptolemæi delati. Nam quartus Archelao pactione concessit. Sed hic finis eos postea secutus est. Tunc autem latrocinali bello cunctam inflammabant Judæam. |
Then a certain shepherd by the name of Athrongæus dared to make a grab for the throne. His hopes were based on his physical strength and contempt of death, and on the support of four brothers like himself. Each of these he put in charge of an armed band, employing them as generals and satraps on his raids, and reserving to himself as king the settlement of major problems. He set a crown on his own head, but continued for a considerable time to raid the country with his brothers. Their principal purpose was to kill Romans and the royal troops; but not even a Jew could escape if he fell into their hands with anything valuable on him. Once they ventured to surround an entire century of Romans near Emmaus, when they were conveying food and munitions to their legion. Hurling their spears, they killed the centurion Arius and forty of his best men; the rest were in danger of meeting the same fate until the arrival of Gratus with the troops from Sebaste enabled them to escape. Such was the treatment that they meted out to natives and foreigners alike throughout the war; but after a while three of them were defeated, the eldest by Archelaus, the next two in age in an encounter with Gratus and Ptolemy; the fourth submitted to Archelaus on terms. It was, of course, later that their career came thus to an end: at the time we are describing they were harassing all Judæa with their brigandage. |
|
| ⇑ § V |
Judæorum motus
a Qunitilio Varo compositi :
seditiosi quasi
bis mille crucifixi. | Varus composes the tumults in Judæa and crucifies about two thousand of the seditious. |
| 1 |
— Caput B-3 —
De Vari gestis circa Judæos crucifixos. |
| Varus autem, acceptis Sabini et principum litteris, toti legioni metuens, opem his ferre properabat. Itaque cum duabus reliquis legionibus et quattuor alis equitum in Ptolemaida profectus, eodem regum atque optimatum auxilia convenire jussit. Ad hæc a Berytiis etiam, quum per eorum transiret oppidum, mille et quingentos accepit armatos. Ubi vero in Ptolemaidem tam cetera manus auxiliorum, quam propter Herodis inimicitias Aretas rex Arabum non cum exiguo numero equitum peditumque pervenit, statim exercitus partem in Galilæam (quæ Ptolemaidi propinqua erat) dirigit, amici sui Galli filio his rectore præposito. Qui mox et adversus quos ierat omnes in fugam vertit et, Sepphori civitate capta, ipsam quidem incendit, incolas vero ejus servitio subjugavit. Varus autem ipse cum omni exercitu Samaria potitus, civitate quidem abstinuit, quod inter aliorum turbas nihil eam movisse deprehendit ; castris autem ad vicum positis qui appellatur Arun, Ptolemæi possessionem propterea direptam ab Arabibus qui et amicis Herodis infensi erant, inde ad Sappho progreditur, alterum vicum tutissimum, quem similiter, omnesque reditus ibi repertos depopulati sunt. Cædis autem ignisque plena erant omnia, nec prædationi Arabum quicquam obstabat. Exusta est et Ammaus jussu Vari, necem Arii ceterorumque indigne ferentis, habitatoribus ejus fuga dispersis. |
When Varus received the dispatches of Sabinus and the officers, he was naturally afraid for the whole legion and hurried to the rescue. He picked up the other two legions and the four troops of horse attached to them and marched to Ptolemais, giving instructions that the auxiliaries provided by kings and local potentates should meet him there. In addition he collected 1,500 heavy infantry as he passed through the city of Berytus. At Ptolemais he was joined by a great number of allies. Prominent among these was Aretas the Arab, who because he had hated Herod brought a considerable force of infantry and cavalry. Varus at once dispatched a portion of his army to the part of Galilee near Ptolemais, under the command of {Gajus,} the son of his friend Gallus. Gajus soon both routed those who blocked his way, and captured the city of Sepphoris and burnt it, enslaving the inhabitants. With the rest of his forces Varus himself marched into Samaria, but kept his hands off the city {(of Sebaste)} as he learned that, when the whole country was in a ferment, there had been complete quiet there. He encamped near a village called Arus, which belonged to Ptolemy and for that reason had been plundered by the Arabs, who hated Herod’s friends as well. From there he went on to Sappho, another fortified village, which they plundered in the same way, seizing all the revenues they found there. Fire and bloodshed were on every side, and nothing could check the depredations of the Arabs. Emmaus too, abandoned by its inhabitants, was destroyed by fire at the command of Varus to avenge Arius and those who had perished with him. |
| 2 |
| Hinc progressus ad Hierosolymam cum exercitu, solo visu Judæorum castra disjecit, et alii quidem per agros abiere fugientes ; qui vero intra Civitatem degebant, suscepto eo, seditionis causas in alios conferebant, nihil quidem se penitus movisse dicentes, sed propter diem festum receptam necessario multitudinem, in Civitate obsessos esse potius cum Romanis quam cum dissidentibus conspirasse. Ante vero obviam ei venerant Josephus, Archelai consobrinus, et cum Grato Rufus, ducentes exercitum regium, et Sebastenos, et Romanos milites ornatos habitu consueto. Sabinus enim nec in os Vari venire ausus, jamdudum ex Civitate ad mare discesserat. Varus autem dispertitum adversus auctores tumultus per agros dimisit exercitum ; multisque sibi exhibitis quos minus turbulentos invenisset, custodiæ tradidit, maxime vero nocentium prope ad duo milia cruci suffixit. |
Then Varus marched on to Jerusalem, where at the first sight of him the Jewish camp dispersed, the fugitives disappearing into the countryside. The citizens, however, welcomed him and shifted all responsibility for the revolt to others, declaring that they had not lifted a finger but had been forced by the occurrence of the Feast to receive the swarm of visitors, so that far from joining in the attack they had, like the Romans, been besieged. Before this he had been met by Joseph, the cousin of Archelaus, by Rufus and Gratus at the head of the men from Sebaste as well as the royal army, and by the members of the Roman legion with the normal arms and equipment — for Sabinus, not daring to come into Varus’ sight, had already left the City for the sea. Varus sent portions of his army about the countryside in pursuit of those responsible for the upheaval, and great numbers were brought in: those who seemed to have taken a less active part he kept in custody, while the ringleaders were crucified — about two thousand. |
| 3 |
| Adhuc autem circa Idumæam superesse decem armatorum milia nuntiato, confestim Arabas domum abire jubet ; quod eos non auxiliantium more uti militia, sed pro sua libidine, et supra quam ipse vellet, agros vastare perspexit : suis autem comitatus agminibus, in adversarios properabat. Verum illi se Varo, priusquam in manus veniretur, Achiabi consilio tradiderunt. Varus autem multitudini, venia data, duces ejus interrogandos misit ad Cæsarem. At ille quum ignovisset ceteris, in nonnullos regis cognatos (erant enim quidam inter eos Herodis propinqui) animadvertit, quod omnino contra regem suum arma cepissent. Varus autem hoc modo rebus apud Hierosolymam compositis, eademque legione quæ dudum in præsidio Civitatis fuerat, ibi relicta, Antiochiam rediit. |
Information reached him that in Idumæa there still remained a concentration of 10,000 men, heavily armed, so he immediately ordered the Arabs to leave, because he found that they were not behaving militarily as allies but ravaging the countryside as they wished and beyond what he himself wanted. With his own legions he then hurried to meet the rebels. But before it came to battle, they took the advice of Achiab and surrendered to Varus. Varus acquitted the rank and file of any responsibility, but sent the leaders to Cæsar to be examined. Cæsar pardoned most of them, but some of the king’s relatives — a few of the prisoners being connected with Herod by birth — he sentenced to death for having fought against a king of their own blood. Varus, having thus settled matters in Jerusalem, left as garrison the same legion as before and returned to Antioch. |
|
| ⇑ § VI |
Multa Archelao objiciunt Judæi,
et Romanorum prætoribus
subjici postulant.
Quibus auditis,
Cæsar liberis Herodis
paternas possessiones
pro arbitrio suo distribuit.
| The Jews greatly complain of Archelaus and desire that they may be made subject to Roman governors. But when Cæsar had heard what they had to say, he distributed Herod’s dominions among his sons according to his own pleasure. |
| 1 |
— Caput B-4 —
De Ethnarcha Judæorum instituto. |
| Romæ autem Archelao alia rursus cum Judæis causa conflata est, qui ante seditionem, permissu Vari, legati exierant, jus genti suæ liberum petituri. Erant autem numero quinquaginta, qui venerant, et astabant eis plus quam octo milia Judæorum Romæ degentium. Itaque convocato a Cæsare optimatum Romanorum amicorumque concilio in Palatini Apollinis templum (quod privatum ipsius erat ædificium admirandis opibus exornatum), multitudo quidem Judæorum constitit cum legatis, contraque Archelaus cum amicis. Cognatorum autem amici
ab utraque parte secreti erant. Nam et cum Archelao stare propter odium atque invidiam recusabant, et cum accusatoribus conspici pudore Cæsaris prohibebantnr. Inter quos erant etiam Philippus, Archelai frater, benevolo animo duabus ex causis præmissus a Varo : ut et Archelao subveniret ; et si regnum Herodis nepotibus ejus distribui placuisset, partem aliquam mereretur. |
At Rome Archelaus was involved in a new dispute with some Jews who before the revolt had been permitted by Varus to come as ambassadors and plead for racial autonomy. These numbered fifty and were backed by more than 8,000 of the Jews in Rome. Cæsar summoned a council of Roman officials and his own friends in the Palatine temple of Apollo which he himself had built and decorated regardless of expense. The Jewish mob stood with the ambassadors facing Archlaus and his friends: the acquaintances of his relatives stood apart from both; for hatred and envy made them unwilling to be associated with Archlaus, while they did not want to be embarrassed in front of Cæsar by being seen with his accusers. They had also the support of Philip, the brother of Archelaus, who had been sent by the kindness of Varus for two purposes — he was to help Archelaus and, if Cæsar divided Herod’s estate among all his descendants, he was to secure a share of it. |
| 2 |
| Jussit autem accusatoribus exponere, quænam contra leges fecisset Herodes. Primum non se regem, sed omnium qui usquam fuissent tyrannorum crudelissimum tolerasse dicebant. Deinde multis ab eo trucidatis, ea pertulisse superstites questi sunt, ut beatiores mortui putarentur. Non enim tormentis solum eum lacerasse corpora subjectorum, sed etiam, gentis suæ civitatibus deformatis, exteras ornavisse, populisque alienis Judææ sanguinem condonasse. Pro antiqua vero felicitate ac patriis legibus, nationem suam tanta egestate simul ab eo atque iniquitate repletam, prorsus ut plures ex Herode paucis annis clades sustinuerint, quam omni ævo majores sui, postquam ex Babylone discessere, perpessi sunt, Xerxe tunc regnante ad discordias concitati. Verum se tamen ad modestiam ex adversæ fortunæ consuetudine profecisse, ut etiam successionem voluntariam acerbissimæ servitutis subirent, qui et Archelaum, tanti tyranni filium, patre mortuo regem appellassent nihil morati, et una cum eo luxissent mortem Herodis, ac pro ejus successore vota celebrassent. Illum autem, quasi metueret ne non certus ejus filius videretur, a cæde trium milium civium regni sumpsisse primordia ; et, quia principatum meruerit, tot immolasse Deo hominum victimas, tot festo die Templum cadaveribus implevisse. Recte igitur eos qui de tantis malis superessent, aliquando respexisse calamitates suas, et belli lege cupere vulneribus excipiendis ora præbere ; atque ab Romanis precari, ut Judææ reliquias misericordia dignas existimarent, neve quod ex ea natione restaret, his objicerent, a quibus crudelissime lacerabatur ; sed patriam suam conjungi Syriæ finibus, ac per judices Romanos administrari decernerent ; hoc enim modo probatum iri, Judæos qui nunc veluti turbulenti ac belli cupidi reprehenduntur, moderatis rectoribus obœdire nosse. Judæorum quidem accusatio ejusmodi petitione conclusa est. Quum autem surrexisset contra Nicolaus, primum criminibus quæ in reges erant proposita dissolutis, nationem cœpit arguere, quia neque gubernari facilis esset naturaque regibus vix pareret. Una etiam propinquos Archelai, qui se ad accusatores contulerant, insimulabat. |
When the accusers were called upon they first went through Herod’s crimes, declaring that it was not to a king that they had submitted but to the most savage tyrant that had ever lived. Vast numbers had been executed by him, and the survivors had suffered so horribly that they envied the dead. He had not only shredded the bodies of his own subjects with torture but also, disfiguring his own people’s cities, adorned foreign ones, and had shed Jewish blood to gratify foreigners. Depriving them of their old prosperity and their ancestral laws, he had reduced his people to poverty and utter lawlessness. In fact, the Jews had endured more calamities at Herod’s hands in a few years than their ancestors had endured in all the time since they left Babylon, provoked to rebellion by the then reigning Xerxes {(actually, Artaxerxes I, 465—424 B.C.)}. But they had become so subservient and inured to misery that they had even voluntarily entered into the continuance of that extremely bitter servitude, and on Herod’s death had immediately called Archelaus, the son of such a tyrant, king. They had joined with him in mourning Herod’s death and in praying for the success of his own reign. But he, as though afraid of not seeming to be a bonafide son of his, had inaugurated his reign by putting 3,000 citizens to death and, because he had earned the principate, offered to God that number of sacrifices for his enthronement, and filling the Temple with that number of dead bodies during a Feast! It was only right that those who had survived such a succession of calamities should have finally reflected on their sufferings and desired according to the law of war to receive their blows face on; they begged the Romans to pity the remnant of the Jews, and not to throw what was left of them to those who would tear them to pieces, but to unite their country with Syria and administer it through Roman officials. This would show that men now accused of anarchy and aggression knew how to submit to reasonable authority. With this request the Jews brought their accusation to an end. Nicolaus then rose and refuted the charges brought against the kings, and began to accuse the nation, because it was not easy to rule and by nature would obey its kings only with difficulty. Lastly, he attacked those of Archelaus’ relatives who had gone over to the accusers. |
| 3 |
| Sed tum quidem partibus Cæsar auditis, conventum diremit. Paucis autem diebus post, mediam regni partem sub ethnarchiæ nomine dedit Archelao ; etiam regem, si se dignum præbuisset, facturum esse pollicitus. Reliquam vero dimidiam in duas tetrarchias divisit, duobusque aliis Herodis filiis attribuit : unam Philippo, alteram Antipæ, qui cum Archelao de regno certaverat. Hujus parti cesserat trans flumen regio, et Galilæa, quarum ducenta talenta reditus erant. Batanea vero et Trachon, et Auranitis, et quædam partes domus Zenonis, circa Jamniam, Philippo destinatæ sint, quæ talentorum centum reditus ministrabant. Archelai vero ethnarchia Idumæam, omnemque Judæam, et Samariam habebat quarta tributorum parte levatam, pro munere quia non rebellasset cum ceteris. Ac civitates quibus imperaret ei traditæ sunt Stratonis Pyrgus, et Sebaste, et Joppe, et Hierosolyma. Ceteras autem, Gazam et Gadaram et Hippon, regno avulsas, Syriæ Cæsar adjecit. Erant autem reditus Archelai quadringenta talenta. Quin et Salomen, præter illa quæ testamento regis ei relicta erant, Jamniæ dominam, et Azoti, et Phasaëlis idem Cæsar constituit, regiamque apud Ascalonem largitus est ; ex quibus omnibus talentorum sexaginta reditus colligebantur. Domum vero ejus ethnarchiæ subdidit Archelai. Quum autem ceteris quoque Herodis propinquis testamento relicta solvisset, duas ejus filias virgines extrinsecus quingentis milibus pecuniæ donavit, easque nuptum Pheroræ filiis collocavit. Diviso autem Herodis patrimonio, etiam sibi relictas ab eo facultates ad mille talenta eis distribuit, exceptis suo nomine quibusdam rebus vilissimis propter honorem defuncti. |
After hearing both sides, Cæsar adjourned the meeting; but a few days later he gave half the kingdom to Archelaus, with the title of ethnarch and the promise that he should be king if he showed that he deserved it: the other half he divided into two tetrarchies which he bestowed on two other sons of Herod, one on Philip, the other on {Herod} Antipas who was disputing the kingship with Archelaus. Under Antipas were placed the trans-Jordan region and Galilee with a revenue of two hundred talents, while Batanea, Trachonitis, Auranitis and some parts of Zenodorus’ domain around Jamnia, with a revenue of a hundred talents, were put under Philip. Archelaus’ ethnarchy comprised Idumæa, all Judæa, and Samaria, which was excused a quarter of its taxes as a reward for not joining in the revolt. The cities placed under his rule were Strato’s Tower, Sebaste, Joppa and Jerusalem; the Greek cities of Gaza, Gadara and Hippos were detached from the kingdom and added to Syria. The revenue from the territory assigned to Archelaus amounted to four hundred talents. Salome, in addition to what the king had left her in his will, was appointed mistress of Jamnia, Azotus and Phasaëlis, and as a gift from Cæsar she received the palace at Ascalon. From all these she collected a revenue of sixty talents; but her domain came under the general control of Archelaus. And after he had also granted to Herod’s other relatives what had been left to them in his will, in addition he gave the two unmarried daughters {(Roxanne and Salome II)} 500,000 drachmas, and arranged for them to marry the sons of Pheroras. After dividing up Herod’s estate, he also shared out among them all the legacy bequeathed to him by Herod — the sum of 1,000 talents — after picking out a few treasures of no intrinsic value in memory of the departed. |
 |
|
| ⇑ § VII |
Historia de Pseudoalexandro.
Relegatur Archelaus,
moritur Glaphyra ;
uterque per quietem
præmonitus. | The history of the spurious Alexander. Archelaus is banished and Glaphyra dies, after what was to happen to both of them had been showed them in dreams. |
| 1 |
— Caput B-5 —
De subditicio falsoque Alexandro, eoque deprehenso. |
| Interea quidam juvenis natione Judæus, apud quendam libertinum Romanorum in Sidoniorum oppido educatus, illum se, formæ similitudine, quem Herodes necaverat, Alexandrum esse mentitus, fallendi spe Romam venit. Hujus autem facinoris habebat socium quendam gentilem suum, omnes regni actus optime scientem ; a quo instructus, affirmabat eorum se misericordia, qui sui atque Aristobuli occidendi causa missi fuerant, similibus corporibus subditis, morti esse surreptos. Denique his multos jam Judæos fefellerat in Creta degentes, ac liberaliter illic acceptus, Melumque inde transmissus, ibique ampliore quæstu cumulatus, etiam hospites suos magna verisimilitudine Romam secum navigare pellexerat. Postremo delatus Dicæarchiam, multisque muneribus ab Judæis ejus loci donatus, quasi rex a paternis amicis deducebatur. Ad hoc enim fidei processerat formæ similitudo, ut qui Alexandrum illum viderant, planeque noverant, hunc eum esse jurarent. Igitur omnes etiam Romæ Judæi, visendi ejus studio circumfusi properabant ; et infinita multitudo per vicorum angustias, quocunque ferebatur, conveniebant. Tanta namque dementia multos ceperat, ut illum sella portarent, ac regale obsequium propriis ei sumptibus exhiberent. |
At this period a young man, Jewish by birth but brought up at Sidon by a Roman freedman, took advantage of his physical resemblance to pass himself off as Alexander, the son whom Herod had executed and, in the hope of deceiving everyone, came to Rome. Assisting him was a compatriot who knew all that went on in royal circles, and who instructed him to say that the men detailed to execute him and Aristobulus had been moved by pity to smuggle them away, leaving instead bodies resembling theirs. With this pretence he deceived many of the Jews in Crete and, welcomed lavishly there, sailed thence to Melos and there got yet more money, by his great plausibility conning his hosts even to travelling with him to Rome. Landing finally at Dicæarchia {(i.e., Puteoli)}, he obtained very large contributions from the Jews there and was escorted on his way like a king by his “father’s” friends. So convincing was the physical likeness that men who had seen Alexander and remembered him well swore it was he. The whole Jewish community in Rome poured out to see him, and an enormous crowd gathered in the narrow streets through which he was carried; for so completely had the Melians lost their wits that they carried him in a sedan chair and furnished him with royal splendor at their own expense. |
| 2 |
| Sed Cæsar, Alexandri vultum optime sciens (accusatus enim apud eum fuerat ab Herode), etsi priusquam videret hominem, fallaciam similitudinis adverterat, hilariori tamen animi spei nonnihil indulgendum putavit, et Celadum quendam, qui Alexandrum bene cognosceret, misit, ut ad se adolescentem deduceret. Qui, illo conspecto, statim personæ differentiam conjectura deprehendit. Maxime vero, ubi corporis ejus duritiam, et servilem formam consideravit, intellexit omne commentum. Valde autem commotus est dictorum ejus audacia ; de Aristobulo enim percontantibus, salvum quidem illum esse commemorabat ; consulto vero non adesse, quia apud Cyprum degeret cavendo insidias ; minus enim se circumveniri posse disjunctos. Itaque ab aliis ei separato vitam dixit a Cæsare præmium fore, si tantæ fraudis prodidisset auctorem. Id autem se facturum ille pollicitus, ad Cæsarem sequitur ; et Judæum indicat, qui formæ suæ similitudine abusus esset ad quæstum. Tanta enim dona ex civitatibus eum singulis abstulisse docuit, quanta vivus Alexander non accepisset. Risit his Cæsar ; et falsum quidem Alexandrum, propter habitudinem corporis, remigum numero inseruit, suasorem vero ejus interfici jussit. Meliis autem sumptuum detrimentum pro amentiæ pretio satis esse judicavit. |
Cæsar, well acquainted with Alexander’s features (since he had been accused by Herod before him), realized even before seeing the man that it was a case of impersonation; but he thought it would be best to be a bit indulgent toward these cheerful hopes and sent one Celadus, who remembered Alexander well, with orders to bring the young man to him. As soon as Celadus set eyes on him, he observed the differences in his face and, noticing that his whole body was tougher and more like a slave’s, saw through the whole plot. But he was most indignant at the impudence of the fellow’s story; for when asked about Aristobulus he insisted that he too was alive, but was deliberately absent because he was staying in Cyprus for fear of treachery: apart they were less likely to be ensnared. Celadus took him aside and said, “Cæsar will spare your life in return for the name of the man who persuaded you to tell such monstrous lies.” The youth replied that he would give him the required information and accompanied him into Cæsar’s presence, where he pointed to the Jew who had made use of his likeness to Alexander for profit: he explained that the man had carried off more gifts from every city than Alexander had received in his whole lifetime. Cæsar was highly amused, and in view of his splendid physique sent the pseudo-Alexander to join his galley-slaves, but ordered the man who led him astray to be put to death. The Melians were sufficiently punished for their folly by the loss of their money! |
| 3 |
— Caput B-6 —
De Archelai exilio. |
| Ethnarchia vero suscepta, memor discordiæ superioris Archelaus, non solum Judæis, sed etiam Samariensibus crudeliter abusus est. Nonoque principatus sui anno, legatis contra se ab utrisque ad Cæsarem missis, ipse quidem in exilium pellitur Viennam, Galliæ civitatem ; patrimonium vero ejus fisco Cæsaris adjudicatur ; quem quidem priusquam evocaretur ad Cæsarem, hujuscemodi somnium vidisse commemorant : novem spicas plenas et maximas a bobus comedi somniaverat ; accitos deinde vates, Chaldæorumque nonnullos quidnam illo putarent indicari somnio, consuluerat. Aliis autem aliter interpretantibus, Simon quidam, Essenus genere, dixerat spicas annos arbitrari, bovesque rerum mutationes, eo quod agros arando verterent ac mutarent. Ideoque regnaturum quidem illum esse tot annos quot significasset numerus aristarum ; varias autem rerum mutationes expertum, esse moriturum. Hisque auditis, Archelaus quinque diebus post ad causam dicendam est evocatus. |
Once established as ethnarch, Archelaus, remembering his previous enmities, treated not only Jews but even Samaritans brutally. In the ninth year of his rule, both peoples sent embassies to accuse him before Cæsar, with the result that he was banished to Vienne in Gaul, and his property transferred to Cæsar’s treasury. Before he was summoned by Cæsar, so we are told, he dreamt that he saw nine large, full ears of wheat devoured by oxen. He sent for the seers and some of the Chaldeans and asked what they thought this foretold. While various interpretations were given, Simon, one of the Essenes, suggested that the ears denoted years and the oxen a political upheaval, because by ploughing they turned the soil over and changed it. Archelaus would rule one year for every ear, and would die after undergoing various upheavals. Five days after hearing this, the dreamer was called to his trial. |
| 4 |
| Dignum autem memoria duxi etiam conjugis ejus Glaphyræ somnium, Archelai filiæ Cappadocum regis, referre : quam quum Alexander prius habuisset uxorem, frater hujus de quo loquimur, Herodis filius regis a quo ille interfectus est, sicut jam designavimus, post illius mortem Jubæ regi Libyæ nuptam, eoque defuncto domum reversam, domique apud patrem in viduitate degentem, Ethnarches Archelaus ubi conspexit ad hoc amoris accensus est, ut eam statim, repudiata conjuge sua Mariamme, sibi copularet. Hæc igitur brevi tempore postquam in Judæam rediit, videre visa est superstantem sibi Alexandrum dicere. « Satis fuerat tibi Libycum matrimonium ; sed tu illo non contenta, rursus ad meos penates reverteris, avidissima viri tertii, et quod gravius est, mei fratris juncta matrimonio. Equidem non dissimulabo contumeliam, teque licet invitam recuperabo. » Atque hoc exposito somnio, vix biduum supervixit. |
I think I might also mention the dream of his wife Glaphyra, daughter of Archelaus, king of Cappadocia. She had first married Alexander, the brother of Archelaus about whom I have been writing, and son of King Herod, who put him to death as already explained. When he died she married Juba, king of Libya, and when he too died, she returned home and lived as a widow in her father’s house until the ethnarch Archelaus saw her and fell so deeply in love with her that he instantly divorced his wife Mariamme and married her. Shortly after her arrival in Judæa she dreamt that Alexander stood over her and said, “Your Libyan marriage was quite enough; but you were not satisfied with it; you came back again to my home after choosing a third husband and, what is worse, my own brother at that! I shall not overlook the insult; I will fetch you back to me whether you like it or not.” She related this dream and lived only two days longer. |
|
| ⇑ § VIII |
Archelai ethnarchia
in provinciam redacta.
Seditio Judæ Galilæi.
Judæorum tres sectæ. | Archelaus’s ethnarchy is reduced into a [Roman] province. The sedition of Judas of Galilee. The three sects of the Jews. |
| 1 |
— Caput B-7 —
De Simone Galilæo. De tribus sectis apud Judæos. |
| Igitur Archelai finibus in provinciam redactis, procurator Coponius quidam. eques Romanus, missus est, ea sibi a Cæsare potestate mandata. Hoc disceptante, Galilæus quidam, Simon nomine, defectionis arguebatur, quia indigenas increparet, si tributum Romanis pendĕre paterentur, dominosque post Deum ferre mortales. Erat autem propriæ sectæ sophista, nulla in re similis aliis. |
The territory of Archelaus was brought under direct Roman rule, and a man of equestrian rank at Rome, Coponius, was sent as procurator with that authority from Cæsar. A Galilean named Simon who disagreed with this was accused of treason because he rebuked the natives if they submitted to paying taxes to the Romans, and after serving God alone accepted human masters. This man was a rabbi with a sect of his own, and was quite unlike the others. |
| 2 |
| Etenim tria sunt apud Judæos genera philosophiæ. Horum unum Pharisæi profitentur, alterum Sadducæi. Tertium vero quod etiam probabilius habetur, Esseni colunt, gente quidem Judæi, verum inter se mutuo amore conjunctissimi ; et qui, præter ceteros, voluptates quidem quasi maleficia vitarent, continentiam vero servare, neque cupiditati succumbere, virtutem maximam ducerent. Itaque nuptias quidem fastidiunt, alienos vero filios, dum adhuc molles sunt, eruditioni traditos pro cognatis habentes, suis moribus diligenter instituunt, non quia conjugia vel humani generis successionem censeant perimendam, sed quia cavendam putent intemperantiam feminarum, nullam earum uni viro fidem servare credentes. |
Among the Jews there are three schools of religious ideology. Of these, one is professed by the Pharisees and the second, by the Sadducees. But the third, seemingly the most commendable, is followed by the Essenes {(< Aramaic hassaya “the Pious ”)}. They are Jews by birth and are strongly attached to each other. Going further than the others, they eschew pleasure-seeking as a vice and regard remaining celibate and not giving in to lust as the highest virtue. Scorning wedlock, they select other men’s children while still pliable and, considering those handed over to them for education as their relatives, diligently fashion them after their own pattern — not that they wish to do away with marriage as a means of continuing the race, but they are afraid of the promiscuity of women and convinced that none of the sex remains faithful to one man. |
| 3 |
| Quin et divitiarum contemptores sunt, rerumque apud eos communicatio admirationi habetur, neque invenias alteri alterum opulentia præstare ; legemque sibi dixerunt ut, qui disciplinam suam sectari vellent, bona contubernio publicarent. Ita enim fore, ne vel paupertatis humilitas vel divitiaram dignitas appareret sed, permixtis facultatibus, velut inter fratres unum esset omnium patrimonium. Probro autem ducunt oleum, et si quis vel invitus unctus fuerit, munditiis corpus absterget ; quoniam squalorem decorem putant, dummodo semper in veste sint candida. Designatos autem communium rerum procuratores habent, et ad usus omnium singulos indivisos. |
They are contemptuous of wealth: the way they share things among themselve has to be admired, and none of them will be found to be better off than the rest: their rule is that novices admitted to the sect must surrender their property to the order, so that among them all neither humiliating poverty nor excessive wealth is ever seen, but each man’s possessions go into the pool and as with brothers their entire property belongs to them all. Oil they regard as polluting, and if a man is unintentionally smeared with it he wipes himself clean; for they consider unsmoothness proper, while they always wear white. For the common property they have designated managers, and for the benefit of all, each individual without distinction. |
| 4 |
| Non est autem illis una civitas certa, sed in singulas multi domicilia transferunt, et aliunde advenientibus sectæ suæ professoribus, quicquid habeant, promptum exhibent quasi proprium. Denique tanquam consuetissimi ad eos ingrediuntur, quos nunquam ante viderunt. Hinc est quod cum peregrinantur, propter latrocinia tantum armentur, neque præterea quicquam ferant. In singulis autem civitatibus, ex eodem collegio specialis curator hospitum constituitur qui eorum vestimenta ceteraque usui necessaria tueatur. Amictus autem cultusque corporis, omnibus pueris in metu et sub cura magistri agentibus, par est. Nec vero vestitum sive calceos mutant, nisi aut omnino conscissis prioribus, aut longi temporis usu consumptis. Nihil autem inter se mercantur aut vendunt ; sed egenti quisque quod habet præbens, refert ab eo quod ipse non habet ; quamvis etiam sine permutatione cunctis libera sit facultas, a quibus libuerit, accipiendi quod opus sit. |
They possess no one particular city but many shift their residence to individual ones. When adherents arrive from elsewhere, all local resources are put at their disposal as if they were their own, and men they have never seen before entertain them like old friends. And so when they travel they carry no baggage at all, but only weapons to keep off bandits. In every town one of the order is appointed specially to look after strangers and issue clothing and provisions. Their dress and personal appearance are like those of children in the fear and care of a tutor. Neither garments nor shoes are changed till they are dropping to pieces or worn out with age. Among themselves nothing is bought or sold: everyone gives what he has to anybody in need and receives from him in return something he himself can use; and even without giving anything in return everyone is free to share the possessions of anyone he chooses. |
| 5 |
| Præcipue circa Deum religiosi sunt. Namque ante solis ortum nihil profani loquuntur, sed ei patria quædam voto celebrant, quasi ut oriatur precantes. Deinde ad quas venerunt singuli artes, a curatoribus dimittuntur. Quumque ad horam quintam studiose fuerint operati, rursus in unum congregantur ; linteisque præcincti velaminibus, ita corpus aquis frigidis abluunt. Atque, hac lustratione facta, in eadem secreta coeunt quo neminem alterius sectæ hominem spirare concessum est, ipsique purificati, velut in sanctum quoddam templum in cenaculum veniunt ; quibus ibi cum silentio residentibus, pistor quidem panes ordine, unum autem vasculum ex uno pulmento singulis cocus apponit. Deinde voce cibum sacerdos antevenit ; neque gustare quemquam fas est, nisi prius Deo celebretur oratio. Post finem quoque prandii vota repetunt. Nam et quum incipiunt, et quum desinunt, quasi datorem vīctus, Deum laudibus canunt. Tunc veluti sacris illis depositis vestimentis, in opere usque ad vesperam versantur. Similiterque inde reversi cenant, consedentibus etiam hospitibus si quos forte intervenisse repererint. Neque vero clamor unquam tectum illud, neque tumultus inquietat, quum etiam loquendi ordine aliis alii cedant, eorumque silentium, extra tectum constitutis arcanum quoddam videatur venerabile. Cujus quidem rei perpetua sobrietas causa est, quodque apud eos edendi aut potandi modus saturitate definitur. |
They are particularly strict in religious observance toward God. Before sunrise they do not utter a word on secular affairs, but offer to Him some traditional rites in prayer as if beseeching Him to appear. After this their supervisors send every man to his particular skill, and they work assiduously till an hour before noon, when they again meet in one place and, donning linen loincloths, wash all over with cold water. After this purification they assemble in secluded areas of their own which no one outside their community is allowed to enter; they then go into the refectory in a state of ritual cleanliness as if it were a holy temple and sit down in silence. Then the baker gives them their loaves in turn, and the cook sets before each man one bowl of one and the same food. The priest says grace before meals: to taste the food before this prayer is forbidden. After breakfast he offers a second prayer; for at beginning and end they give thanks to God as the Giver of life. Then, removing their garments as sacred, they go back to their work till evening. Returning once more, they take supper in the same way, seating their guests beside them if any have arrived. Neither shouting nor disorder ever desecrates the house: in conversation each gives way to his neighbor in turn. To people outside the silence within seems like some awesome mystery; it is the natural result of their unfailing sobriety and the restriction of their food and drink to simple sufficiency. |
| 6 |
| Sed quamvis aliarum rerum nihil sine præcepto faciunt curatoris, tamen in his duobus, hoc est juvando et miserendo, sui juris sunt. Nam et subvenire dignis, quum opus est, suo arbitrio cuique licet, et indigentibus alimenta porrigere. Sane cognatis dare aliquid sine curatoribus, interdictum. Iidem iracundiæ moderatores justi sunt, indignationem cohibent, fidem tuentur, paci obsecundant ; et omne quod dixerint, jurejurando fortius habent. Ipsum autem jusjurandum quasi perjurio deterius vitant. Jam enim mendacii condemnatum arbitrantur, cui sine Deo non creditur. Summum autem studium veterum Scriptis adhibent, ea maxime inde quæ animæ et corpori expediant eligentes. Hinc illis morborum remedia, stirpes medicæ quamque vim propriam singuli lapides habeant, rimantibus conquiruntur. |
In general they take no action without orders from the superiors, but two things are left entirely to them: personal aid and charity. They may of their own accord help any deserving person in need or supply the penniless with food. But gifts to their own kinsfolk require official sanction. Showing indignation only when justified, they keep their tempers under control; they champion good faith and serve the cause of peace. Every word they speak is more binding than an oath; they reject swearing as something worse than perjury, for they say a man is already condemned if he cannot be believed without God being invoked. They are wonderfully devoted to the work of ancient writers, choosing mostly books that can help soul and body; by searching through them they thereby learn all about remedies for disease, medicinal roots and the special properties of individual stones. |
| 7 |
| Sectæ vero suæ studiosis non statim cum eis una collectio, sed per annum integrum extrinsecus commoranti cuique, eundem vīctus ordinem tribuunt, dolabellam quoque, et quod prædictum est perizoma, et albam vestem tradentes. Quum vero processu temporis experimentum continentiæ dederit, accedit etiam ad communem cibum, et purioribus, ob castificationem scilicet, aquis participat ; neque tamen in convictum assumitur. Post ostensionem quippe continentiæ, duobus annis aliis mores ejus probantur. Quumque dignus apparuerit, tunc demum in consortium assumitur. Prius vero quam incipiat communem habere cibum, magnis exsecrationibus adjurat se primum quidem colere Deum, deinceps quoque erga homines servare justitiam, et neque propria sponte nocere cuiquam, neque ex præcepto obesse ; quinimmo iniquos omnes odisse, et collaborare semper justitiæ sectatoribus, fidem omnibus servare, maxime vero principibus. Neque enim absque voluntate Dei cuiquam posse principatus potentiam contingere. Si vero ipse ceteris præsit, nunquam se abusurum viribus potestatis ad contumeliam subjectorum, sed neque veste aut ambitioso aliquo ornatu reliquis eminere, veritatem semper diligere, et habere propositum convincere mentientes. Manus vero a furto, et animam puram servare ab injustis compendiis ; et neque aliquid de mysteriis consectaneos celare, neque profanis eorum quippiam publicare, etiam si intentata quispiam morte compellat. Super hæc autem addunt, nihil se de dogmatibus aliud quam ipsi susceperint, tradere. Fugere autem latrocinia, et conservatum ire simul et dogmatis sui libros et angelorum nomina. His quidem exsecrationibus explorant, et quasi præmuniunt accedentes. |
Persons desirous of joining the sect are not immediately admitted. For a whole year a candidate is excluded but is required to observe the same rule of life as the members, receiving from them a hatchet, the loincloth mentioned above, and white garments. When he has given proof of his temperance during this period, he joins in the common meal; and shares in the purer waters of sanctification, though not yet admitted to the communal life. After demonstrating his self-control, his morals are tested for two more years, and if he is then seen to be worthy, he is accepted into the society. But before touching the communal food he must swear terrible oaths, first that he will revere God, and secondly that he will deal justly with men, will injure no one either of his own accord or at another’s bidding, will always hate the wicked and cooperate with the good, and will keep faith at all times and with all men — especially with rulers, since all power is conferred by God. If he himself receives power, he will never abuse his authority and never by dress or some ostentatious ornament outshine those under him; he will always love truth and seek to convict liars, will keep his hands from stealing and his soul innocent of unholy gain, and will never hide anything from members of the sect or reveal any of their secrets to others, even if brought by violence to the point of death. He further swears to impart their teaching to no man otherwise than as he himself received it; to take no part in armed robbery, and to preserve both the books of the sect and the names of the angels. Such are the oaths by which they make sure of their converts. |
| 8 |
| Deprehensos vero in peccatis a sua congregatione depellunt ; et qui taliter fuerit condemnatus, miserabili plerumque morte consumitur. Illis quidem sacramentis ac ritibus obligatus, neque capere ab aliis oblatum cibum potest. Herbas vero pecudum more decerpens, et fame exesus per membra corrumpitur. Ob quod etiam plurimos plerumque miserati, extremum spiritum agentes receperunt, sufficientem pro peccatis eorum quæ usque ad mortem adduxerit pœnam luisse censentes. |
Men convicted of major offenses are expelled from the order, and the outcast usually comes to a most miserable end; for, bound as he is by oaths and customs, he cannot share the diet of non-members, so is forced to eat grass like beasts till, his body wasted away by starvation, he dies. Compassion compels them to take many offenders back when at their last gasp, since they feel that men tortured to the point of death have paid a sufficient penalty for their offenses. |
| 9 |
| In judiciis vero sunt diligentissimi atque justissimi. Disceptant autem non minus quam centum in unum coacti ; quod autem his decretum fuerit, immobile manet. Veneratio quoque apud eos, post Deum, magna Legislatoris est, ita ut, si quis eum blasphemaverit, morte damnetur. Senibus vero obœdire et plurium quorumque decreto, probabile arbitrantur officium. Quum simul denique sederint decem, nullus unus novem loquitur invitis. Exspuere quoque in medium eorum, vel in dexteram sui partem, quisque devitat. Sabbatis quoque operationem aliquam contigisse, omnibus Judæis diligentius cavent : neque cibum sibi solum pridie præparant — ne videlicet illo die ignem accendant —, sed neque vas aliquod transponere audent, immo nec alvum purgant. Aliis autem diebus fodientes foveam uno pede altam σκαλίδι, hoc est, illa dolabella quam tradi nuper accedentibus diximus, dimissa veste sese diligentissime contegentes, ne scilicet splendori divino injuriam faciant, in eadem fovea ab onere ventris levantur, ac deinceps terram quam effoderant reducunt ; idque ipsum faciunt in locis secretissimis ; et quum naturalis sit ista purgatio, nihilominus tamen sollemne habent, ut quasi ab immunditia diluantur. |
In trying cases they are most careful and quite impartial, and the verdict is given by a jury of not less than a hundred: when they reach a decision there is no appeal. What they reverence most after God is the Lawgiver {(i.e., Moses)}, and blasphemy against him is a capital offense. Obedience to older men and to the majority is a matter of principle: if ten sit down together one will not speak against the wish of the nine. They are careful not to spit into the middle of other people or to the right, and they abstain from touching any work on the Sabbath more rigidly than all other Jews; for not only do they prepare their meals the previous day so as to avoid lighting a fire on the Sabbath, but they do not venture to remove any utensil or even to go and defecate. On other days they dig a hole a foot deep with their trenching-tool (that is, the hatchet which we said is given to the novices) and, carefully draping their cloak round them so as not to affront the divine sunshine, they relieve themselves in the same pit; then they put the excavated soil back in the hole. The do this in the most secluded spots; and though emptying the bowels is quite natural, nonetheless it is still their practice to wash themselves, as though from filth. |
| 10 |
| Discernuntur autem inter se, secundum susceptæ abstinentiæ tempora, in ordines quattuor ; tantumque hi qui juniores sunt inferiores præcedentibus æstimantur, ut si aliquos eorum contigerint, quasi a contrectatu alienigenæ diluantur. Vivunt autem quam longissime, ita ut plurimi eorum usque ad centenariam proferantur ætatem, propter simplicitatem victus, ut equidem puto, et institutionem bene in omnibus ordinatam. Sunt etiam contemptores adversorum : cruciatus siquidem vincunt firmitate consilii. Mortem vero, si cum decore obeunda sit, judicant etiam immortalitate meliorem. Prodidit autem eorum in omnibus negotiis animos, bellum quod gestum est cum Romanis. Tunc siquidem per artuum confractiones et ignes, ac per tormenta omnigena transeuntes, ut videlicet vel in Legislatoris aliquid loquerentur injuriam, vel ciborum quippiam quod non solent ederent, ad neutrum horum potuerunt compelli ; sed neque deprecari suos tortores aut inter ipsa flere supplicia ; in mediis quinimmo cruciatibus surridentes, et eis qui tormenta admoverant illudentes, constanter animas cum quadam hilaritate reddebant, scilicet quasi qui eas essent denuo recepturi. |
They are divided into four grades, according to seniority in abstinence; and so far are the juniors inferior to the seniors that if they touch them the persons touched must wash as though contaminated by an alien. They are long-lived, most of them passing through the century, owing to the simplicity of their daily life, I guess, and a routine well-regulated for the benefit of all of them. They despise misfortunes and conquer pain by sheer willpower: death, if it comes with honor, they value more than life without end. Their mental stamina under all conditions was demonstrated by the war with the Romans. For they broke their limbs and burnt them, subjecting them to every torture yet invented in order to make them blaspheme the Lawgiver or eat some forbidden food, but could not make them do either, or ever once plead with their tormentors or shed a tear during their torture. On the contrary, smiling in their agony and gently mocking those who tortured them, they resigned their souls in the joyous certainty that they would receive them back again. |
| 11 |
| Opinio quippe apud illos firmata consistit, corruptibilia quidem esse corpora, materiamque eorum non esse perpetuam ; animas autem immortales semper manere, et de æthere subtilissimo commeantes, quasi carceribus ita corporibus implicari, velut quas illecebra naturalis attraxerit. Quum vero fuerint a carnalibus relevatæ vinculis, quasi de servitute longissima liberatas, ita ilico lætari eas, sublimesque ferri. Et quidem bonas (concinentes in hoc Græcorum sententias) pronuntiant ultra Oceanum degere, ubi eis sit reposita perfruitio : illic quippe esse regionem quæ neque imbribus, neque nivibus, neque æstibus aggravetur, sed quam Oceano oriens Zephyrus, et leniter aspirans amœnet. Malis autem animabus, procellosa loca et hiberna delegant, plena gemitibus exercendarum sine fine pœnarum. Videntur autem mihi secundum hanc ipsam intelligentiam Græci quoque fortibus suis, quos Heroas et semideos vocaverunt, beatorum insulas sequestrasse ; improborum autem animabus locum apud inferos impiorum, in quo etiam cruciari quosdam commentati sunt, Sisyphos videlicet, et Tantalos, et Ixiones, et Tityos ; principio quidem immortales esse animas existimantes, ob adhortationem utique virtutis, dehortationemque nequitiæ ; bonos quippe fieri in hujus vitæ conservatione meliores, per spem bonorum etiam post lucem redhibendorum, improborum autem impetum retardari æstimantes ; quoniam etsi in hujus vitæ spatio latuerint, post obitum tamen sint immortalia tormenta passuri. Hæc sunt ergo quæ Esseni de divinitate animæ philosophantur, plane illecebram inevitabilem eis qui semel de eorum sapientia gustaverint, reponentes. |
It is indeed their unshakable conviction that bodies are corruptible and the material composing them impermanent, whereas souls remain immortal forever. Coming forth from the most rarefied ether, they are trapped in the prison-house of the body as if drawn down by natural enticement; but once freed from the bonds of the flesh, as if released after a very long period of slavery, they rejoice and soar aloft. Indeed, agreeing with the opinions of the Greeks in this, they declare that the good ones live beyond the ocean, where their reward is situated, a place troubled by neither rain nor snow nor heat, but refreshed by a bliss-bringing zephyr that blows gently from the ocean. Bad souls they consign to stormy and wintry places, full of the sighs from enduring never-ending punishments. The Greeks seem to me to have located the Islands of the Blest for their brave men, whom they call heroes or demigods, according to this same understanding, and for the souls of the wicked the place of the impious in the netherworld where, as they confabulate it, certain people also undergo punishment — Sisyphus and Tantalus, Ixion and Tityus. They tell these tales — starting with their belief that souls are immortal — in the hope of encouraging virtue and discouraging vice, reasoning that the good become better in upholding this life through the hope of good actions to be repaid even after death, but that the urge toward bad actions will be restrained, because even if they escape notice in this lifetime, they will still suffer eternal torments after death. These, then, are the doctrines of the Essenes on the divine nature of the soul — an indeed inescapable inducement to those who have once tasted their wisdom. |
| 12 |
| Sunt autem in eis qui etiam futura nosse promittant, Sacris videlicet Libris, et variis sanctificationibus, prophetarumque dictis a primis ætatibus adhærentes ; raro autem accidit ut prædictiones eorum frustratio consequatur. |
Some of them claim to foretell the future, men who from childhood have devoted themselves to the Sacred Books, purifications of different kinds, and the aphorisms of prophets; rarely if ever do their predictions prove wrong. |
| 13 |
| Est autem aliud etiam Essenorum collegium, cibos quidem et mores legesque similes cum prioribus habens, distans vero opinione de conjugio. Maximam siquidem vitæ hominum partem — successionem scilicet — amputare eos qui abstineant nuptiis arbitrantur ; quippe si in eandem velint omnes ire sententiam, defecturum confestim genus humanum. Nihilominus autem cum tanta ipsi moderatione conveniunt, ut per triennium explorent valetudinem feminarum ; et si constanti purgatione apparuerint idoneæ partui, ita eas in matrimonia asciscunt. Nemo tamen eorum cum prægnante concumbit ; ut ostendant quod nuptias non voluptatis, sed liberorum causa inierint. Lavantibus autem feminis, ita ut viris perizomatum, inest amictus. Tales sunt mores hujus collectionis. |
There is a second order of Essenes, maintaining diet, customs and laws similar to the first one, but differs in its views on marriage. They think that the biggest thing in life — the continuance of the race — is cut off by men who do not marry; and further, if everyone followed their example, mankind would rapidly disappear. However, they test the health of the women for three years, and if through regular menstruation they appear capable of childbearing, they ask them to marry them. But none of them has intercourse with a pregnant woman — proof that the object of the marriage was not pleasure but the begetting of children. When women bathe they wear a garment just as the men wear a loincloth. Such are the customs of the order. |
| 14 |
| Duorum autem priorum ordinum, Pharisæi dicuntur, qui certiorem legalium rituum notitiam profitentur ; et hi primum dogma habent, ut fato et Deo universa deputent ; et quidem vel agere quæ justa sunt vel negligere, secundum majorem partem, esse in hominibus profitentur ; adjuvare tamen in singulis et Fatum. Animam autem omnem quidem incorruptam esse, transire autem in alia corpora solas bonorum, improborum vero interminabili supplicio cruciari. Sadducæi porro, secundus ordo, Fatum omnino negant ; et Deum extra omnem mali patrationem inspectionemque constituunt. Ajunt autem electioni hominum vel bonum vel malum esse propositum ; et secundum voluntatem propriam, alterutrum unicuique contingere. Animarum autem generaliter vel supplicia denegant vel honores. Et Pharisæi quidem sociales, et qui studeant se mutua dilectione complecti ; Sadducæi vero et inter se feris moribus discrepantes, et conversatio eorum circa exteros inhumana. Hæc sunt quæ de Judæorum philosophis dicenda reperi ; nunc ad inceptum revertor. |
Of the two schools named first, the Pharisees {(< Hebrew perushim “the Separated”)} are exponents of the deeper understanding of the Law and its rites. And their first principle is that everything is to be ascribed to Fate and to God: the decision whether or not to do right rests for the greater part with men, but in every action Fate takes some part. Every soul is imperishable, but only those of good men pass into other bodies, the souls of bad men being subjected to eternal punishment. The Sadducees {(< Hebrew Zadok “descendants of the pontiff Zadok,” of the time of David, ca. 1,000 B.C.)}, the second order, deny Fate altogether and hold that God is beyond either committing evil or seeing it; they say that the choice of good or bad is placed in the hands of men, and it is for each individual to choose one of them according to his own will. They deny on principle both the punishments and rewards of souls. Again, Pharisees are clannish and seek to embrace one another in mutual friendship; but Sadducees, even towards each other, are discordant, with abrasive behavior, and in their dealings with foreigners are inhuman. This is all I have learned about the Jewish schools of thought; now I am returning to my main topic. |
|
| ⇑ § IX |
Salomes obitus.
Urbes ab Herode
et Philippo conditæ.
Tumultus sub Pilato.
Agrippa major a Tiberio
in vincula conjectus :
A Gajo principe
libertate et regno donatur.
Herodes Antipas
in exilium mittitur. | The death of Salome. The cities which Herod and Philip built. Pilate occasions disturbances. Tiberius puts Agrippa into bonds but Gajus [Caligula] frees him from them, and makes him king. Herod Antipas is banished. |
| 1 |
— Caput B-8 —
De Pilati regimine. |
| Archelai ethnarchia in provinciam redacta, reliqui, id est, Philippus et Herodes, qui cognominabatur Antipas, tetrarchias suas regebant. Salome enim moriens Juliæ Augusti conjugi toparchiam quam rexerat, et Jamniam, et in Phasaëlide palmeta testamento reliquit. Delato autem ad Tiberium, Juliæ filium, Romano imperio, post mortem scilicet Augusti (qui præfuit rebus annis septem et quinquaginta, mensibus sex, diebus duobus), manentes in tetrarchiis suis Herodes ac Philippus, hic quidem juxta fontes ipsos e quibus Jordanis flumen exoritur, in Paneade condidit civitatem quam « Cæsaream » vocitavit, aliamque in Inferiore Gaulanitide, quam « Juliadem » nominavit, Herodes vero in Galilæa « Tiberiadem », in Peræa autem cognominem « Juliæ ». |
When the ethnarchy of Archelaus was turned into a Roman province, his brothers, Philip and Herod Antipas, continued to rule their respective tetrarchies. When Salome died, she left her prefecture, with Jamnia and the palm-groves at Phasaëlis, to Julia, Augustus’s wife. Later, when on the death of Augustus (who had been in supreme control for fifty-seven years, six months and two days) the empire passed to Julia’s son Tiberius, Herod {Antipas} and Philip remained in their tetrarchies. Philip founded the city of Cæsarea, near the sources of the Jordan in Paneas, and Julias in Lower Gaulanitis; Herod founded Tiberias in Galilee and a city called after Julia in Peræa. |
| 2 |
| Missus autem a Tiberio in Judæam Pilatus, quum curandam accepisset regionem, nocte intempesta opertas in Hierosolymam intulit imagines Cæsaris, quæ res post triduum ingentem inter Judæos suscitavit tumultum ; nam qui aderant stupore permoti sunt, quasi jam profanatas leges suas viderent. Nullum enim fas esse collocari in Urbe simulacrum. Ad querelam autem eorum qui in Civitate erant, subito etiam ex agris multitudo confluxit. Euntes autem ilico Cæsaream ad Pilatum, intentissime deprecabantur, ut ab Hierosolymis auferrentur imagines, et eis jura patria servarentur. Pilato autem supplicantibus abnuente, circa domum ejus proni corruerunt ; et immobiles quinque diebus continuis noctibusque mansere. |
As procurator of Judæa, Tiberias sent Pilate who, during the dead of night, secretly and under cover, conveyed to Jerusalem images of Cæsar. After three days, this caused a huge riot among the Jews; for those present were dumbfounded at the sight, which they interpreted to mean that their laws had been profaned — they do not permit any graven image to be set up in the City — and the protesting City dwellers were suddenly joined by a huge mob from the countryside. They rushed off to Pilate in Cæsarea and earnestly begged him to remove the standards from Jerusalem and to respect their ancestral customs. When Pilate refused, they fell prone all around his house and remained motionless for five solid days and nights. |
| 3 |
| Post autem Pilatus tribunal ascendens, studio magno convocat multitudinem Judæorum, quasi qui eis vellet dare responsum, quum subito milites, accepto signo (sic enim jam fuerat præparatum), armati circumsteterunt Judæos ; circumdataque triplici acie, Judæi quidem stuporis erant pleni, videntes insperatam rerum faciem. Tunc Pilatus denuntians trucidaturum se omnes, nisi imagines Cæsaris susciperent, annuit militibus ut educerent gladios. Judæi autem quasi uno consilio omnes subito corruerunt, et cervices nudatas excipiendis ictibus pararunt, vociferantes universos se interfici magis velle quam Legem profanari. Tunc Pilatus, circa religionem studium populi demiratus, confestim de Hierosolymis statuas jussit auferri. |
After that, Pilate took his seat on the tribunal in the great stadium and with great earnestness summoned the mob on the pretext that he was ready to give them an answer. Instead he gave a pre-arranged signal to the soldiers who suddenly surrounded the Jews in full armor, and the troops formed a ring three deep. The Jews were dumbfounded at the unexpected sight, but Pilate, declaring that he would cut them all to pieces unless they accepted the images of Cæsar, nodded to the soldiers to bare their swords. At this all the Jews as though by common accord fell to the ground in a body and offered their necks, shouting that they were all ready to be killed rather than transgress the Law. Amazed at the intensity of their religious fervor, Pilate ordered the statues to be removed from Jerusalem immediately. |
| 4 |
| Deinde vero conturbationem alteram commovebat. Est apud eos sacer thesaurus quem « Corban » dicunt ; hunc ad inductionem aquarum jussit expendere ; erat autem inducenda aqua ab stadiis trecentis. Ob hoc itaque vulgi oriebantur querelæ, ita ut etiam Pilati, qui Hierosolymam venerat, cum clamore circumdarent tribunal. Ille autem præviderat tumultum eorum, siquidem populo permiscuit armatos milites, qui tunc essent privatorum vestibus induti ; præcepitque ut gladiis quidem non uterentur, fustibus autem acclamantes ferirent. Sicque compositis rebus, dat ex tribunali signum, confestimque cædebantur Judæi ; quorum multi quidem plagis, multi vero se invicem conculcantes, in fuga misera contritione perierunt. Tunc ad calamitatem interfectorum stupens multitudo conticuit. |
After this he stirred up further trouble by expending the sacred treasure known as Corban on an aqueduct fifty miles long. This roused the populace to protests to the extent that when Pilate visited Jerusalem they surrounded his tribunal and shouted him down. But he had foreseen this disturbance and so had made the soldiers mix with the mob, wearing civilian clothing over their armor, and with orders not to draw their swords but to use clubs on the rabble-rousers. Having arranged things in this way, he gave the signal from the tribunal and the Jews were quickly killed, many being cudgelled, but also many being trampled to death by one another as they fled in wretched dismay. The fate of those who perished horrified the crowd into silence. |
| 5 |
| Atque ob hoc, accusator Herodis tetrarchæ, Agrippa, qui fuit filius Aristobuli quem pater Herodes interfecit, ad Tiberium venit. Illo autem non suscipiente accusationem, residens Romæ, et reliquorum quidem potentium notitias ambiebat, maximis autem colebat officiis Germanici filium Gajum, quum adhuc esset privatus. Et quodam die inter copiosum epularum apparatum quibus eum demerebatur, ad ultimum extensis manibus, aperte Deum cœpit precari, celeriter illum, mortuo Tiberio, dominum cunctorum videre. Hoc quum quidam e familiaribus ejus Tiberio nuntiasset, statim concludi jussit Agrippam, qui sub grandi ærumna, usque ad mortem Tiberii, in carcere per menses sex tenebatur. Sed defuncto eo post regnum annorum duorum et viginti, sex mensium, trium dierum, |
At about this time Agrippa, son of that Aristobulus who had been put to death by his father Herod, sought an audience with Tiberius in order to accuse Herod the Tetrarch. When the accusation was not accepted, he remained in Rome and made approaches to many eminent men, and particularly to Germanicus’ son Gajus, as yet a private citizen. One day he invited him to an extravagant dinner through which he was ingratiating himself to him, finished by stretching out his arms and openly praying that with the death of Tiberius he would soon see Gajus as lord of the world. One of his domestics passed this on to Tiberius, who immediately had Agrippa locked up, keeping him in very harsh conditions for six months until his own death. He had reigned twenty-two years, six months and three days. |
| 6 |
| succedens in imperium C. Cæsar absolvit Agrippam vinculis, et tetrarchiam Philippi (jam enim is decesserat) ei tradidit, regemque appellavit. Quum venisset autem in regnum Agrippa, Herodis Tetrarchæ cupiditates per invidiam suscitavit. Irritabat autem eum maxime in spem regni Herodias uxor, exprobrans ei socordiam, et dicens quia per id quod noluerat ad Cæsarem navigare, careret potestate majore. Nam quum Agrippam ex privato regem fecisset, quomodo dubitaret illum ex tetrarcha eodem honore donare ? His adductus, Herodes venit ad Gajum, a quo ob avaritiam vehementer increpitus, ad Hispaniam fugit ; secutus eum quippe fuerat accusator Agrippa, cui etiam tetrarchiam illius C. Cæsar adjecit. Atque ita Herodes quidem in Hispania, peregrinante secum etiam uxore, decessit. |
On being proclaimed Cæsar, Gajus release Agrippa and set him over the tetrarchy of Philip, recently deceased, proclaiming him king. Agrippa’s acquisition of this title awoke jealous ambitions in Herod the Tetrarch. Herod’s hopes of a crown were inspired chiefly by his wife Herodias, who kept nagging him for his inertia and declaring that only his unwillingness to make the journey to Cæsar prevented his acquiring greater power. Since the emperor had promoted Agrippa from private citizen to king, how could Herod doubt that the emperor would promote him from tetrarch to the same rank? Yielding to this pressure, Herod approached Gajus and, after being upbraided by him for his greed, fled to Spain. For he had been followed by Agrippa, who brought accusations against him and was rewarded by Gajus with the addition of Herod’s tetrarchy. Herod, whose wife shared in his exile in Spain, died there. |
|
| ⇑ § X |
Gajus imaginem suam
Hierosolymis in templo
collocari postulat.
Quid ad eam rem Petronius. | Gajus commands that his statue should be set up in the Temple itself ; and what Petronius did thereupon. |
| 1 |
— Caput B-9 —
De superbia Gaji, et Petronio præside. |
| Gajus vero Cæsar in tantum contumeliose abusus est fortuna, ut etiam et Deum se putaret, et vellet vocari. Patriam quoque suam multorum nobilium cæde truncavit. Extendit autem impietatem suam etiam in Judæam ; Petronium denique cum exercitu Hierosolymam misit, præcipiens ut in Templo statuas ejus locaret, quas nisi susciperent Judæi, contradicentes quidem ex his interficeret, reliquam vero multitudinem captivaret. Permovebat autem hoc profecto Deum. Et Petronius quidem cum tribus legionibus, multisque e Syria auxiliaribus properabat in Judæam ex Antiochia. Judæorum vero quidam non credebant famæ bellum nuntianti. Qui vero credebant, nihil de resistendo poterant comminisci. Celeriter autem in omnes pervadit metus, nam jam Ptolemaidem pervenerat exercitus. |
Gajus {Caligula} Cæsar abused his good fortune with such arrogance that he wished to be thought of and addressed as a god. He mutilated his own country through the slaughter of many noble men and proceeded to lay sacrilegious hands on Judæa. He ordered Petronius to march with an army to Jerusalem and erect his statues in the Temple: if the Jews refused them, he was to execute the objectors and enslave all the rest of the population. But this provoked even God. Petronius, with three legions and a large body of Syrian allies, marched swiftly from Antioch to Judæa. Some of the Jews disbelieved the rumors of war; others who did believe were at a loss as to how to defend themselves. But soon a shudder ran through them all, for the army was already at Ptolemais. |
| 2 |
| Est autem hæc Civitas Galilææ litore in magno campo sita, circumdatur autem montibus ab Orientali plăga per sexaginta stadia disparatis sed ad Galilæam pertinentibus, a meridiana autem Carmelo, qui abest stadiis centum viginti, a Septentrionali quoque monte qui est altissimus, quem vocant incolæ « Scalam Tyriorum », et hic autem distat stadiis centum. Ab ea autem urbe distans duobus stadiis præterlabitur fluvius, quem vocant Beleum, exiguus prorsus, cui prope est sepulcrum Memnonis, habens juxta se centum fere cubitorum spatium, sed admiratione dignissimum. Est enim specie vallis rotundæ, vitream emittens arenam ; quam quum exhauserint multæ naves, pariter accedentes, locus idem rursus impletur. Venti siquidem quasi dedita opera, convehunt illuc de circumstantibus superciliis arenam istam, utique communem. Locus autem metalli, statim in vitrum quod susceperit, mutat. Mirabilius quoque mihi illud videtur, quod jam conversæ arenæ in vitrum, quæcunque pars super margines loci ipsius fuerit jacta, in vulgarem arenam denuo convertitur. Igitur loci quidem illius natura talis est. |
(This is a seaside town of Galilee, built on the edge of the Great Plain and shut in by mountains. To the east, seven miles away, is the Galilæan range; to the south is Carmel, fifteen miles distant; to the north is the highest range, called “The Ladder of Tyre” by the natives: the distance in this case is twelve miles. About a quarter of a mile from the town flows the Beleus, a very tiny stream on whose banks is the Tomb of Memnon. Near this is an area about fifty yards wide which is of great interest; it is a round hollow which yields crystalline sand. A large number of ships enter it together and dredge it, but the place fills up again thanks to the winds which as if on purpose blow common sand into it from the surrounding ridges. This is at once converted by the position of the pit into crystal. Still more wonderful, I think, is the fact that crystal which overflows from the basin reverts to ordinary sand. So that is the nature of that spot.) |
| 3 |
| Judæi autem cum mulieribus et filiis collecti in campum, in quo est sita Ptolemais, Petronio supplicabant, principio ob patrias leges, deinceps vero etiam pro suo statu. Ille autem, ob multitudinem precantium et precum inflexus, exercitum quidem et statuas in Ptolemaide reliquit ; procedens autem in Galilæam, et convocans in Tiberiadem tam populum Judæorum quam omnes eorum nobiles, et vim Romani exercitus cœpit exponere, et minas Cæsaris, his addens, quod et contumeliosa esset supplicatio Judæorum : quum omnes siquidem gentes quæ parerent imperio Romano in suis urbibus inter reliquos deos imagines quoque Cæsaris locavissent, soli Judæi istud abnuerent. Hoc siquidem quasi ab imperio deficere esset, etiam cum injuria præsidentis. |
The Jews with their wives and children massed on the plain near the city, and appealed to Petronius first for their ancestral laws and then for their own existence. Swayed by the demands of such a formidable crowd, he left the army and the statures in Ptolemais. Then he advanced into Galilee and, summoning the populace with all the notables to Tiberias, he began to point out the power of Rome and the threats of Cæsar, adding that the demands of the Jews were offensive: for while all the subject races had set up images of Cæsar in their cities among the other gods, only the Jews had refused to do so. This was tantamount to rebellion and an insult to the emperor. |
| 4 |
| Illis vero contra hæc Legem moresque patrios allegantibus, et quia ne Dei quidem simulacrum, nedum hominis, nec solum in Templo, sed neque in profano aliquo totius regionis loco fas sibi esset locare, arripiens dictum Petronius, respondit, « Sed et mihi mei domini lex servanda est. Si eam quippe transgrediar, vobisque parcam, juste animadversionem subibo. Impugnabit sane vos non Petronius, sed ille a quo sum missus, nam et ipse æque ac vos cogor implere quæ jussa sunt. » Ad hæc tota multitudo unanimiter succlamavit, ante Legis temerationem omnem se libenter subire perniciem. Sedato autem eorum clamore Petronius ait, « Pugnare ergo adversus Cæsarem estis parati ? » Responderunt Judæi, pro Cæsare quidem et populo Romano se per dies singulos offerre sacrificia, si autem in Templo imagines æstimet collocandas, debere eum totam Judæorum gentem prius immolare ; præbere se quippe jugulos cum mulieribus et parvulis ei qui interficere voluisset. Ad hæc admiratio Petronium miseratioque pervasit, intuentem et insuperabilem religionem virorum, et tantum vulgus ad mortem constanter paratum. Et tunc quidem infectis omnibus recesserunt. |
When they pleaded that this was against their Law and ancestral customs and explained that it was not permissible for a graven image of God, much less of a man, to be placed in the Temple or even in some ordinary place in their county, Petronius retorted, “Quite so; but I too am bound to keep the law of my sovereign lord: if I break it and spare you, I shall perish as I deserve. It will be the Emperor himself who will make war on you, for I am compelled to obey orders just as you are.” In reply the crowd roard that they were ready to suffer anything rather than the infringement of their Law. When he had secured silence, Petronius asked, “Are you then ready to go to war with Cæsar?” The Jews replied that for Cæsar and the people of Rome they offered sacrifices every day. But if he wished to set up the images in their midst, he must first sacrifice the whole Jewish race: they were ready to offer themselves as victims with their wives and children. This reply filled Petronius with amazement and pity for the unparalleled religious fervor of these brave men and the courage that made them so ready to die. So for the time being they were dismissed with nothing settled. |
| 5 |
| Postridie autem ac deinceps summates eorum privatim viritimque compellans, populum quoque publice alloquens, nunc quasi consulens admonebat, interdum etiam minabatur, extollens et virtutem Romanam et indignationem Cæsaris, inter hæc etiam suam necessitatem, cui essent exsequenda præcepta. Sed illis ad nulla horum experimenta cedentibus, quum videret etiam sementem regionis intercipi (ipsum quidem anni tempus erat, et quinquaginta pæne continuis diebus multitudo in urbe otiosa morabatur) ad ultimum convocatis omnibus, ait sibimet periculosam rem se velle aggredi. « Aut enim », inquit, « Deo cooperante placabo Cæsarem, ac vobiscum salvabor libenter, aut illo in ultionem irritato, pro tanta multitudine impendam animam meam. » Atque ita dimissis turbis, multa pro eo vota facientibus, Antiochiam ab Ptolemaide revocavit exercitum, atque illinc confestim misit ad Cæsarem, referens et quo apparatu in Judæam irruisset, et quod tota gens supplicasset, quibus si abnuendum putaret, nosset cum viris etiam provinciam esse perdendam. Servare siquidem ipsos Legem patriam, et novis præceptis vehementer obsistere. His epistolis respondit Gajus immodice, comminans Petronio mortem, quoniam jussionum suarum segnis exsecutor fuisset. Sed scriptorum talium vectores per tres continuos menses contigit adversa tempestate retineri ; alii autem exitium C. Cæsaris nuntiantes, prospere navigaverunt ; denique ante septem et viginti dies epistolas Petronius accepit finem Cæsaris indicantes, quam illi pervenirent qui comminantia scripta portabant. |
The next and following days he got the leading men together privately and assembled the people publicly, now as though admonishing with advice, sometimes also threatening, emphasizing Roman power, the anger of Cæsar, and along with these things the necessity imposed on himself of following orders. But when they did not relent in any of these attempts, and when he saw that the sowing of the land was being interrupted (for it was at seedtime that the crowds had wasted seven weeks in idleness), he at last got them together and said he would undertake the dangerous risk. “With God’s help I shall convince Cæsar and together with you I will hopefully be saved: If he is exasperated to the point of vengeance, I will gladly give my life to save so many.” Then he dismissed the throng, who offered many prayers on his behalf, withdrew the army from Ptolemais, and returned to Antioch. From there he at once sent a dispatch to Cæsar, informing him of his invasion of Judæa and that the whole nation had pleaded with him, adding that if he intended to deny them, he should know that along with the men the province too would be destroyed. For they were keeping their ancestral Law and strongly resisting the new orders. To this dispatch Gajus replied in no gentle terms, threatening Petronius with death for his slowness in carrying out his orders. But as it happened, the messengers who carried this reply were held up for three months by storms, while others who brought news of Gajus’ death had a good voyage, so that Petronius received the letters reporting Cæsar’s death four weeks earlier than the arrival of the messengers carrying the threatening letters. |
|
| ⇑ § XI |
De imperio Claudii;
Agrippæ regno.
De Agrippæ et Herodis obitu;
et quos uterque liberos
reliquerit. | Concerning the government of Claudius, and the reign of Agrippa. Concerning the deaths of Agrippa and of Herod and what children they both left behind them. |
| 1 |
— Caput B-10 —
De imperio Claudii et regno Agrippæ ac morte. |
| Gajo per dolum interempto (qui regnaverat annis tribus, mensibus sex), rapitur in regnum ab eo exercitu, qui Romæ erat, Claudius. Senatus autem, referentibus consulibus Sentio Saturnino et Pomponio Secundo, mandat tribus cohortibus urbanis, ut essent præsidio Civitati, et ipse frequens in Capitolium convenit ; et propter immanitatem Gaji, bellum agi cum Claudio decernebat, volens imperium ad optimates reducere, ut sicut olim ad regendum dignissimi eligerentur. |
When after a reign of three years and six months Gajus was treacherously murdered, Claudius was thrown into power by the army in Rome. The Senate, however, on the motion of the consuls Sextus Saturninus and Pomponius Secundus, ordered the three remaining cohorts to protect the City, and itself assembled in the Capitol, where in view of the savagery of Gajus they voted to take military action against Claudius. They intended to restore the aristocracy so that, as long before, the worthiest men would be chosen to rule. |
| 2 |
| Accidit interim, ut Agrippa adveniret ; quem quum et Senatus in concilium, in castra Claudius evocasset, ut scilicet eo strenuo adjutore uteretur in quibus res posceret, videns Agrippa Claudium jam esse opibus Cæsarem, ad eum perrexit ; quem ille ilico legatum ad Senatum misit, indicantem suum propositum, quoniam primo quidem invitus ab exercitu raptus sit, et iniquum esse si militum erga se studia tam religiosa desereret, immo tutam aliter suam non esse fortunam ; jam enim ad invidiam satis fore, quod in regnum vocatus sit. Deinde administrare paratum esse Rempublicam, non, ut aliquis tyrannus, sed ut princeps benignus ; sufficere sibi quippe honorem nominis. De singulis autem negotiis communem omnium stare sententiam. Nam et si non natura esset modestus, locuples tamen moderandæ potestatis exemplum Gaji morte esse propositum. |
Meanwhile it happened that Agrippa had arrived. He was summoned by the Senate to a conference, and by Claudius to his camp to use his as his energetic assistant as occasion arose. Realizing that Claudius was virtually Cæsar already, Agrippa went to Claudius, who dispatched him as ambassador to the Senate to explaiin his intentions. In the first place he had been thrust into power against his will by the soldiers, but he felt that to disregard their zeal would be unfair, and to disregard his own destiny most unsafe; for the fact of having been called to power was in itself enough to cause envy. He added that he was prepared to administer the government like a kind-hearted leader, not like some dictator; for he was satisfied with the honor of the imperial title, and on every matter at issue the common wish of all would be the deciding principle. Indeed, if he had not been a moderate man by nature, he would have had an abundant inducement to self-restraint in Gajus’ death. |
| 3 |
| Quæ quum detulisset Agrippa, respondit Senatus, quasi qui militi suo bonisque consiliis fideret, nolle se subire voluntariam servitutem. Sed accepto Patrum responso, Claudius rursus misit Agrippam, nuntiantem eis, se non posse adduci ut eos proderet quorum consensu in imperium esset accitus. Invitum autem se initurum esse pugnam adversus eos cum quibus confligere minime vellet ; proinde eligendum esse locum extra Civitatem in quo confligerent. Neque enim fas esse, propter illorum pervicaciam, patriam civili cæde fœdari. Et Agrippa quidem ista Senatui nuntiavit. |
After Agrippa had delivered the message, the Senate answered that they relied on the army and on wise counsels and would not voluntarily submit to slavery. When Claudius heard this answer, he sent Agrippa back to inform them that he would never consent to betray those by whose consensus he had been called to power, and must therefore fight, though most unwillingly, against those with whom he by no means wished to. However, they must choose a battlefield outside the City; for it would be sacrilege if by their stubbornness they polluted their fatherland with the blood of their countrymen. Agrippa conveyed this message, too, to the Senate. |
| 4 |
| Inter hæc unus ex illis militibus qui cum Patribus erant, educens gladium, « Commilitones, » inquit, « ¿ quibus perturbati causis parricidia perpetrare cupimus, et concurrere adversus propinquos nostros Claudium secutos ? Maxime quum habeamus Imperatorem quem in nulla re culpare possimus, et ad quem cum justis magis allegationibus, quam cum armis, egredi debeamus. » Hæc dicens, per mediam egressus est Curiam, omnibus se militibus consecutis. Hoc exemplo optimates deserti, in magno metu esse cœperunt. Ac deinceps videntes sibi adversationem tutam non esse, sicuti milites, ad Claudium transierunt. Occurrebant autem eis pro muris, strictis gladiis, hi qui fortunæ regis ambitiosius adulabantur ; et pæne accidit ut progressi quisque interficerentur, ante scilicet quam militum impetum Cæsar agnosceret, nisi accurrens Agrippa, imminentis ei facinoris periculum nuntiasset, dicens quod nisi coercuisset exercitum jam in sanguinem civium furentem, confestim amissurus esset omnes per quos conspicuum esset imperium, fieretque solitudinis Imperator. |
Meanwhile one of the soldiers with the Senate drew his sword and cried, “Comrades! Why should we insanely think of killing our partners and attacking our fellow soldiers who are following Claudius? Especially since we have an emperor with nothing against him, and whom we should go to meet with proper delegations rather than with arms!” With these words he strode through the middle of the Senate with his entire unit behind him. Left in the lurch, the Patricians immediately panicked; and seeing that opposition was unsafe, like the soldiers they switched to join Claudius. But before the walls they were met by the naked swords of those who were more zealously truckling to the fortunes of the king; and it almost happened that all of those arriving first were killed — that is, before Cæsar became aware of the soldiers’ attack due to Agrippa’s running to him and alerting him about the danger of an impending tragedy, pointing out that, unless he restrained an army that was already running wild after the blood of the citizens, he would shortly lose the very people who could make his reign illustrious and find himself ruler of a desert. |
| 5 |
| Hæc audiens, Claudius continuit militum impetum. Suscepit autem in castris advenientem Senatum, et indulgenti honore complexus, egressus cum Patribus confestim obtulit Deo hostias, ut mos est pro Imperio supplicari. Agrippam quoque protinus donat regno paterno universo, adjiciens ei etiam illa quæ Augustus Herodi donaverat, Trachonitidem scilicet et Auranitidem, præter hæc autem aliud quoque regnum quod Lysaniæ vocabatur. Et populo quidem donationem hanc per edictum indicavit. Patribus autem præcepit ut incisam æreis tabulis in Capitolio collocarent. Donat autem etiam fratrem ejus Herodem (qui gener ejusdem erat, junctus Berenicæ reginæ) Chalcidis. |
When Claudius heard this, he put a stop to the violent behavior of the soldiery and received the Senate arriving at the camp, and welcoming them with indulgent honors and immediately going out with them to offer sacrifices to God, as it is the custom to offer supplication for the emperorship. On Agrippa he at once bestowed the entire kingdom of his forbears, adding to it the districts given by Augustus to Herod: Trachonitis and Auranitis — and besides these another kingdom called that of Lysanias. The people he informed of this bestowal by an edict; he ordered the Senators to engrave the award on bronze tablets to be set up in the Capitol. He then bestowed on Agrippa’s brother Herod — who was also his son-in-law, having married Queen Berenice — the kingdom of Chalcis. |
| 6 |
| Opinione autem celerius Agrippæ dati regni census maximus affluebat ; qua sane pecunia non ille in rebus exiguis abutebatur, sed talem murum Hierosolymis circumdare cœpit, qualis, si potuisset absolvi, irritam prorsus obsidionem Romanis oppugnantibus effecisset. Sed antequam impleret opus, decessit in Cæsarea. Regnavit autem annis tribus. Ante quoque quum tetrarchiam regeret, aliis tribus annis tenuerat potestatem. Reliquit filias tres e Cypride natas, Berenicem, Mariammem atque Drusillam, filium autem ex eadem ipsa conjuge, nomine Agrippam. Qui quum admodum parvulus esset, Claudius regnum in provinciam redegit, in cujus procurationem missus est Cuspius Fadus, post hunc autem Tiberius Alexander ; qui, nihil de consuetudine patria immutantes, gentem in pace tenuerunt. Posthæc vero et Herodes, qui regnabat in Chalcide, decessit, relinquens ex fratris quidem filia Berenice filios duos, Berenicianum et Hyrcanum, ex priore autem Mariamme, Aristobulum. Alius quoque ejus frater, Aristobulus, mortuus fuerat privatus, relicta filia Jotapa. Hi quidem erant (sicut diximus) liberi Aristobuli, qui fuerat Herodis filius. Alexander autem et Aristobulus nati fuerant Herodi e Mariamme, quos ipse parens occidit. Alexandri autem posteri in majori Armenia regnaverunt. |
Enormous riches from the bestowed kingdom flowed in to Agrippa faster than expected, money which he certainly did not waste in small enterprises ; for he began to surround Jerusalem with fortifications so huge that, could they have been finished, would have made it futile for the Romans to attempt a siege. But before the work was completed, he died in Cæsarea, after three years as king, following three in power as tetrarch. He left three daughters born to him by Cypros — Berenice, Mariamme and Drusilla —, and one son by the same wife, Agrippa. As Agrippa was a young child, Claudius brought the kingdom under direct rule again, dispatching as procurator Cuspius Fadus, followed by Tiberius Alexander. These two left native customs completely alone and kept the nation at peace. After this Herod, King of Chalcis, died leaving two sons, children of his niece Berenice, Berenicianus and Hyrcanus, and a son, the child of his former wife Mariamme, Aristobulus. A third brother, Aristobulus, a private citizen, also died, leaving a daughter, Jotape. The three brothers, as I said before, were sons of Aristobulus and grandsons of Herod; Aristobulus and Alexander were born to Herod by Mariamme and put to death by their father. Alexander’s descendants established a dynasty in Greater Armenia. |
|
| ⇑ § XII |
Tumultus varii sub Cumano,
quos Quadratus comprimit.
Felix Judææ procurator.
Agrippa Chalcidem
majore regno permutat. | Many tumults under Cumanus, which were composed by Quadratus. Felix is procurator of Judæa. Agrippa is advanced from Chalcis to a greater kingdom. |
| 1 |
— Caput B-11 —
De variis tumultibus in Judæa et Samaria. |
| Post obitum autem Herodis, qui regnavit in Chalcide, Claudius Agrippam filium Agrippæ in patrui sui regno constituit. Alterius autem provinciæ suscepit curam post Alexandrum Cumanus, sub quo oriri cœperunt tumultus, et denuo Judæos calamitas comprehendit. Conveniente quippe multitudine ad diem Festum Azymorum in Hierosolymam, stante cohorte Romana super porticum Templi (armati quippe milites semper custodiebant festos dies ne quid convenientes populi novare auderent), unus e militibus, reductis turpiter vestimentis, inclinans posteriora sua vertit ad faciem Judæorum, et ad hunc habitum vocem emittens similem succlamavit. Ob quod factum tota cœpit multitudo conqueri, ita ut circumstarent Cumanum, ad supplicium militem deposcentes. Ex his autem inconsulti juvenes, et quasi natura apti ad seditiones movendas, in rixam gravissimam prosiliebant ; continuo quippe saxa rapientes, percutiebant milites. Tunc veritus Cumanus ne totius in eum vulgi impetus fieret, plures evocavit armatos ; qui quum essent porticibus immissi, metus gravis incidit Judæis. Statimque in fugam versi, relicto Templo refugere cœperunt. Tanta autem per egressus de constipatione obtritio facta est, ut conculcatione mutua super decem milia hominum consumpta sint. Facta est autem universæ genti luctuosa festivitas, et planctus per domos singulas personabat. |
After the death of Herod, King of Chalcis, Claudius established Agrippa’s son Agrippa on his own paternal uncle’s throne. After Alexander, the other province was taken over by Cumanus, under whom upheavals began, with renewed disaster for the Jews. For the people had assembled in Jerusalem for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Roman cohort stood on guard over the Temple colonnade (armed men always being on duty at the feasts to forestall any rioting by the vast crowds). One of the soldiers indecently pulled up his garment and bent over, turning his backside towards the Jews and making a noise corresponding to this position. This infuriated the whole crowd, who surrounded Cumanus and demanded he execute the soldier, while the unthinking young men and the naturally tumultuous section of the people rushed into battle and, snatching up rocks, stoned the soldiers. Cumanus, fearing that the whole population would rush at him, sent for more heavy infantry. When these poured into the colonnades, the Jews were seized with uncontrollable panic, turned tail and began to flee from the Temple. So violently did the dense mass struggle to escape that they trod on each other in the jam, and more than 10,000 were crushed to death. Thus the Feast ended in distress to the whole nation and bereavement to every household. |
| 2 |
| Successit autem huic calamitati latrocinantium tumultus. Juxta Bethoron quippe, per viam publicam, Stephanus quidam, servus Cæsaris, supellectilem quandam vehebat, quæ ab irruentibus latronibus direpta est. Cumanus autem ad inquisitionem mittens eos qui in proximis vicis essent, vinctos ad se adduci jussit, objiciens quod latrones illos non comprehendissent — qua occasione quidam militum in vico quodam libros sacræ Legis offensos discidit atque combussit. Judæi autem quasi totam religionem inflammatam viderent, undique confluxerunt et, velut machinamento aliquo ita vi superstitionis attracti, omnes ad unam evocationem ad Cumanum Cæsaream concurrunt, precantes ut militem qui tantam contumeliam Deo Legique ejus intulisset non relinqueret impunitum. Ad hæc ille (videbat enim multitudinem nequaquam quieturam, nisi aliqua esset satisfactione sedata) adjudicatum militem per medium populum ad supplicium jussit abduci ; sicque Judæi, placatis animis, recesserunt. |
This disaster was followed by a further disturbance, the work of bandits. On the Beth-horon highroad, bandits swooped down on one of the emperors’s slaves, a certain Stephen, and robbed him of the baggage that he was carrying. Cumanus sent out men on a search, with orders to bring the inhabitants of the neighboring villages in chains to his headquarters, blaming them for their failure to pursue and capture the bandits. In one village a soldier, coming upon books of the sacred Law, tore them up and threw them into the fire. The Jews, as if they were watching their whole religion go up in flames, assembled in frantic haste, as if automatically drawn together by the force of their superstition, and on a single summons ran in their thousands from all directions to Cumanus in Cæsarea, where they besought him not to let the man who had thus insulted God and their Law go unpunished. Cumanus, seeing that the mob could be appeased only by some kind of reparation, agreed that the soldier should be produced, and ordered him to be led between the lines of his accusers to execution. Then the Jews, satisfied, went home. |
| 3 |
| Denuo autem Galilæorum et Samaritanorum conflictus exoritur. In vico enim quem « Geman » vocant, qui est in magno Samariæ campo situs, quidam Galilæus de numero Judæorum ad festivitatem ascendens interficitur. Ad quod factum multi ex Galilæa regione concurrerunt, ut quum Samaritanis confligerent. Horum autem nobiliores convenerunt ad Cumanum, rogantes ut, antequam gravis calamitas oriretur, transiret in Galilæam et in eos qui auctores essent homicidii vindicaret. Cumanus vero, his negotiis quæ habebat in manibus postponens, illorum petitiones sine effectu precatores remisit. |
Next came a clash between Galilæans and Samaritans. In the village of Gema, situated in the great plain of Samaritis, a Galilæan was murdered when numbers of Jews were going up to the Feast. This brought swarms of Galilæans to the spot to attack the Samaritans; but their leading men came to Cumanus and begged him to come over to Galilee before a serious disaster happened and punish those responsible for the murder. Cumanus, however, made their petitions take second place to current business, and dismissed the petitioners without a solution. |
| 4 |
| Nuntiato igitur homicidio Hierosolymam, omnis multitudo commota est et, relicta diei sollemnitate, in Samariam vulgus impetum fecit sine ullo duce, nec quicquam principum suorum retinenti acquiescentes. Latrocinii autem eorum et tumultus, quidam Dinæi, filius Eleazarus, et Alexander principes erant qui, in Acrabatenæ regioni conterminos irruentes, promiscuam edidere cædem, et a nullius ætatis exitio temperantes, vicos etiam inflammaverunt. |
When news of the murder reached Jerusalem, the crowds were infuriated and, abandoning the Feast, they instantly set out for Samaria without leaders, paying no heed to the appeals of their own magistrates. The bandit and revolutionary element among them was led by one Eleazar, son of Dinæus, and Alexander. These men swooped on the population bordering the region of Acrabata and slaughtered them, sparing no one of any age, and setting fire to the villages. |
| 5 |
| Cumanus autem, hæc audiens, adduxit secum unam equitum alam, quæ vocatur Sebastenorum, ut auxilio his qui vastabantur esset, sicque eorum multos qui Eleazarum erant secuti comprehendit, plures quoque interfecit. Ad reliquam autem multitudinem qui in vastandos Samaritanorum fines irruerant, principes gentis de Hierosolymis occurrerunt, opertique ciliciis et aspersis cinere capitibus, precabantur ut ab incepto desinerent, nec propter exercendam in Samaritas ultionem ad Hierosolymæ perniciem Romanos commoverent : misererentur autem patriæ suæ atque Templi, filiorumque et conjugum propriarum, neque omnia pariter in discrimen adducerent, neque ob unius Galilæi vindictam cuncta disperderent. His acquiescentes, Judæi a negotio recesserunt. Multi autem per idem tempus in latrocinia conspirabant, sicut fere solet insolentia crescere rebus quietis, per quæ in omni regione agebantur rapinæ et audacissimus quisque reliquis vim afferebat. Tunc Samaritarum primates ad Ummidium Quadratum, qui Syriam procurabat, Tyrum venerunt, vindicari de his qui regionem eorum deprædati fuerant postulantes. Præsto autem fuerant etiam Judæorum nobiles, et Jonathas, filius Anani, princeps sacerdotum, objecta diluens allegabat, initium quidem tumultus Samaritas fuisse qui primi homicidium perpetrassent ; causam tamen calamitatum postea secutarum præbuisse Cumanum, qui inter principia auctores cædis noluisset ulcisci. |
Cumanus, taking from Cæsarea one troop of horse called the Augustans, went to the rescue of those who were being plundered, and rounded up many of Eleazar’s followers, killing still more. As for the rest of the crowd that had set out to fight the Samaritans, the leaders of the people ran out from Jerusalem and, clad in sackcloth and with ashes poured on their heads, besought them to stop what they were doing and to not provoke the Romans to attack Jerusalem by reprisals on the Samaritans: they should spare their fatherland and their Sanctuary, and their own wives and children, and not put them all in danger for the sake of avenging one Galilæan. These appeals induced the Jews to cease their operations; but many joined in banditry — as it is generally usual for incivility to grow in times of quiet — so that plundering went on all over the country and all the more audacious types attacked the rest with violence. On the Samaritan side, the leading men went to Ummidius Quadratus, governor of Syria, at Tyre, and demanded the punishment of those who had ravaged their land. But also present were prominent Jews; and the pontiff Jonathan, son of Ananus, in mitigating the charges, gave the excuse that it was the Samaritans who had begun the disturbance by first committing the murder, but that for the subsequent disasters Cumanus was responsible, since he had initially refused to take action against the actual killers. |
| 6 |
| Tunc Quadratus utramque partem interim distulit, dicens se, quum ad ipsas regiones venisset, diligenter singula inquisiturum ; deinceps vero progressus Cæsaream, eos omnes quos Cumanus vivos ceperat, in crucem sustulit. Inde quum Lyddam venisset, denuo audivit Samaritanorum querelas, et accitos Judæorum decem et octo viros quos cognovit pugnæ fuisse participes securi percussit. Duos autem principes sacerdotum, Jonatham et Ananiam ejusque filium Ananum, et nonnullos alios Judæos nobiles, ad Cæsarem misit ; similiter autem et Samaritarum nobilissimos quosque. Præcepit etiam Cumano et Celeri tribuno, Romam navigare reddituros Claudio rationem pro his quæ in regione gesserant. His ita compositis a Lydda ascendebat Hierosolymam ; et inveniens multitudinem Festivitatem Azymorum celebrantem sine ulla conturbatione, Antiochiam rediit. |
Quadratus for the time being put off both delegations with the promise that when he visited the area he would inquire carefully into all the issues. But he went to Cæsarea and, finding there those whom Cumanus had taken alive, he crucified them all. From there he went on to Lydda, where he heard the Samaritan version again; then he sent for eighteen Jews who were reported to have taken part in the fighting and beheaded them. Besides, the pontiffs Jonathan and Ananias, with the latter’s son Ananus and several other leading Jews, were sent to Cæsar, as were also all the most eminent of the Samaritans. He further instructed Cumanus, with Celer the military tribune, to sail for Rome and report to Claudius what they had done in their region. After making these arrangements, he went from Lydda to Jerusalem and, finding that the people were celebrating the Feast of Unleavend Bread in an orderly manner, he returned to Antioch. |
| 7 |
| Romæ autem, Cæsar, auditis allegationibus Cumani et Samaritanorum (aderat autem etiam Agrippa, Judæorum causam magna contentione defendens, siquidem et Cumano multi potentium aderant), pronuntians adversus Samaritas, tres eorum nobilissimos jussit interfici, Cumanum autem in exilium deportari. Celerem autem tribunum vinctum Hierosolymam missum, Judæis ad supplicium tradidit ut, per urbem tractus, capite plecteretur. |
At Rome Cæsar heard what Cumanus and the Samaritans had to say. Agrippa {II} was there too, zealously supporting the Jews while Cumanus too had many powerful advocates. Claudius found the Samaritans guilty and ordered their three most powerful men executed; he banished Cumanus and sent Celer the tribune in chains to Jerusalem to be handed over to the Jews for torture, dragged around the City and finally beheaded. |
| 8 |
| Posthæc Felicem, Pallantis fratrem, misit ad Judæos, qui et eorum provinciam cum Samaria et Galilæa curaret. Agrippam vero de Chalcide in regnum majus transtulit, tradens ei illam quoque provinciam quæ Felicis fuisset. Erat autem ista Trachonitis et Batanæa et Gaulanitis. Addidit autem regnum etiam Lysaniæ et tetrarchiam quam Varus rexerat. Ipse autem, per annos tredecim, menses octo, dies triginta administrato imperio, decessit, successorem regni Neronem relinquens quem, suadelis Agrippinæ, uxoris suæ, in imperium cooptaverat ; et quidem quum legitimum haberet filium Britannicum ex Messalina natum, priore scilicet conjuge, et Octaviam filiam, quam ipse privigno collocarat Neroni. Susceperat autem ex Agrippina Antoniam. |
After this he sent Felix, the brother of Pallas, as procurator of Samaria and Galilee. From Chalcis he transferred Agrippa to a larger kingdom, giving him Felix’s former province of Trachonitis, Batanæa and Gaulanitis, plus the kingdom of Lysanias and the tetrarchy Varus had ruled. He himself, having ruled the Empire for thirteen years, eight months and twenty days, died, leaving his throne to Nero. His wife Agrippina had cajoled him into adopting Nero as his heir, though he had a son of his own, Britannicus, by his former wife Messalina, and a daughter, Octavia, whom he had married to his stepson Nero. He also had a daughter, Antonia, by Agrippina. |
|
| ⇑ § XIII |
Quattuor urbes a Nerone
Agrippæ regno additæ.
Reliquum Judææ sub Felice.
Sicarii, Magi,
et Ægyptius Pseudopropheta
quas turbas dederint.
De Cæsarea Judæos inter
et Syros acerrima contentio. | Nero Adds Four Cities to Agrippa’s Kingdom ; But the Other Parts of Judæa Were under Felix. The Disturbances Which Were Raised by the Sicarii, the Magicians and an Egyptian False Prophet. The Jews and Syrians have a contest at Cæsarea. |
| 1 |
| Et Nero quidem, quemadmodum per magnitudinem felicitatis et opum abusus sit fortuna, et qualiter fratrem suum, atque uxorem matremque interfecerit, post quos in omnes proximos immanitatem suam convertit, atque ut ad ultimum per amentiam ad histrionum opera scænamque pervenerit, quoniam scio esse narratione molestum, silentio præterire melius puto. |
The subject of how Nero, through his wealth and excess of prosperity, violated his good fortune, and the way in which he put to death in succession his brother, wife and mother, turning his savage attention next to all his closest associates and, through his madness, ended up working as an actor on the stage of a theater, because I know it is depressing to relate, I think it better to pass over in silence. |
— Caput B-12 —
De tumultibus in Judæa sub Felice. |
| Convertar autem ad narranda quæ ab eo adversus Judæos gesta sunt. |
Instead I will turn to narrating what he did against the Jews. |
| 2 |
| Minorem igitur Armeniam regnandam Aristobulo dedit, Herodis filio. Regno autem Agrippæ quattuor urbes addidit cum agris ad singulas pertinentibus : in Peræa scilicet regione, Abilam et Juliadem ; in Galilæa autem Tarichæam et Tiberiadem. Reliqua autem Judææ Felici procuranda dedit. Hic principem latronum Eleazarum, qui per viginti annos regionem fuerat deprædatus, aliosque cum eo multos cepit, vinctosque Romam misit ; aliorumque quos in crucem sustulit — latronum vel in communione sceleris deprehensorum popularium — fuit pæne innumerabilis multitudo. |
Nero gave Lesser Armenia to Herod’s son Aristobulus to rule, while to Agrippa’s kingdom he added four cities with their duchies: Abila and Julias in Peræa; Tarichææ and Tiberias in Galilee. He appointed Felix procurator over the rest of Judæa. Felix captured the bandit chief Eleazar, who had been plundering the country for twenty years, with many of his men, and sent them to Rome as prisoners; the bandits whom he crucified — and the local inhabitants in league with them whom he caught and punished — were too many to count. |
| 3 |
| Sic autem regione purgata, aliud genus latrocinantium in Hierosolymis oriebatur. Hi autem « sicarii » vocabantur, die claro et in media Civitate passim quosque interficientes. Potissimum vero diebus sollemnitate festivis immiscebantur vulgo, sicas sub veste gestantes. His inimicos interficiebant ; ac deinceps collapsis hominibus, illi inter reliquos de scelere querebantur ; qua fraude extra suspicionem manebant, diuque latuerunt. Primus igitur ab eis Jonathas pontifex interficitur. Post hunc autem quotidie plurimi cædebantur, atque ipsis calamitatibus molestior timor Civitatem premebat ; sicut enim in medio bello per singula momenta omnes mortem operiebantur. Circumspiciebant autem eminus quosque appropinquantes, et neque amicis suis fidere poterant, dum tamen in mediis suspicionibus atque custodiis nihilominus interficerentur. Tanta erat latrocinantium temeritas, et ars quædam latendi. |
When the countryside had been cleared of them, another type of brigand sprang up in Jerusalem. Known as “Sicarii,” these men committed numerous murders in broad daylight and everywhere in the middle of the City. In general they would mingle with festival crowds, concealing under their garments small daggers with which they stabbed their opponents. When their victims fell, they would join with the rest in bewailing it and through this deception remain beyond suspicion. The first to be murdered by them was Jonathan the pontiff, and after him many were killed every day. More terrible than the crimes themselves was the fear shrouding the City, every man hourly expecting death, as in war. They looked around at a distance at everyone approaching them, and could not even trust their friends; yet in spite of their suspicions and precautions they were murdered; such was the audacity of the conspirators and their skill in avoiding detection. |
| 4 |
| Ad hæc autem alia etiam malorum collectio facta est, cæde quidem abstinentium, sed consiliis magis impiorum, quæ pars non minus quam sicariorum felicitatem Urbis statumque corrupit. Seductores namque homines et circumventores, sub specie religionis novis rebus studentes, vulgus insanire fecerunt. Nam in solitudines egrediebantur, promittentes Deum signa eis ostensurum libertatis. Contra quos Felix (videbantur quippe semina defectionis esse) mittens equites atque pedites armatos, magnam multitudinem interfecit. |
In addition to these there arose another band of scoundrels, abstaining from murder but in intention more sacrilegious, a group that did as much damage as the murderers to the well-being of the City. Cheats and deceivers claiming inspiration, they schemed to bring about revolution by inducing the mob to act as if possessed; they would leading them out into the desert, promising that there God would show them portents of freedom. Thereupon Felix, regarding this as the first stage of revolt, sent cavalry and heavy infantry who cut the mob to pieces. |
| 5 |
| Majore autem plāga Judæos afflixit Ægyptius quidam pseudopropheta. Adveniens quippe in provinciam, magnus quum esset, prophetæ opinionem sibi arrogans, triginta ferme milia hominum congregavit, quos vana seductione deceperat. Et circumducens eos de solitudine in montem qui vocatur « Olivarum », inde ad Hierosolymam nitebatur ascendere, depulsoque Romanorum præsidio, in populares exercere dominationem. Utebatur autem stipatoribus qui ad id facinus convenerant. Prævidit sane ejus impetum Felix, et occurrens cum ipsis Romanis armatis quos etiam Judæorum reliqua multitudo juvabat, iniit conflictum. Et Ægyptius quidem cum paucis fugit. Plurimi autem, qui cum ipso fuerant, comprehensi atque vinculis traditi sunt. Reliqua vero multitudo in regiones proprias dispersa est. |
A greater blow than this was inflicted on the Jews by an Egyptian false prophet. Arriving in the province, this man, arrogating to himself the reputation of prophet since he was a large man, gathered about 30,000 people whom he deceived with meaningless chicanery. He led them around from the desert to the Mount of Olives, and from there tried to force his way into Jerusalem, overwhelm the Roman garrison and take over the people. As bodyguards he was using those who had joined him in the crime. But Felix headed off the attack by meeting him with the Roman heavy infantry itself whom even the remaining mass of the Jews assisted, and by engaging him in battle. The Egyptian fled with a handful of men, but most of his followers were captured and imprisoned. The rest of the mob scattered to their respective homes. |
| 6 |
| Compressis vero his etiam, sicut fere in ægro corpore, rursus pars altera tumescebat. Magi enim quidam et latrones collecti, multis afflictionem inducebant, et quasi ad libertatem vocabant, mortem apertissimam comminantes his, qui Romanorum principatui obœdire voluissent, ut vel reluctantes averterent eos qui spontaneam ferrent servitutem. Dispersi ergo per totam regionem, diripiebant quorumque potentium domos, eosque insuper trucidabant ; inflammabant etiam vicos, ita ut desperatione eorum tota Judæa protinus impleretur. Et hoc quidem bellum in dies ingravescebat. |
After these things had been suppressed, a different part, as usually happens in a sick body, swelled up. The religious frauds and bandit chiefs joined forces and caused turmoil in many people, ostensibly summoning them to freedom while threatening with death those who wished to submit to Roman rule, as though they were converting the resisters who willingly chose slavery. Then, splitting up into groups, they ranged over the countryside, plundering the houses of the well-to-do, along with killing the occupants and setting fire to the villages, till the despair they caused thoroughly penetrated all of Judæa. Day by day the fighting blazed more fiercely. |
| 7 |
| Alter autem tumultus ortus est circa Cæsaream, inter Judæos scilicet, qui ibi permixti habitabant, et Syros, seditione commota. Hi siquidem postulabant, ut eorum fieret civitas, Judæum ejus fuisse conditorem dicentes ; erat autem rex Herodes. Æmuli vero conditorem quidem confitebantur Judæum, ipsam vero civitatem fuisse gentilium vindicabant. Neque enim illic statuas et fana potuisse constitui, si ad Judæos eam conditor pertinere voluisset. Ob has ergo causas inter se populus uterque jurgabat. Procedebat autem usque ad arma contentio ; et quotidie ad confligendum audaces quique partis alterutræ prosiliebant. Neque enim Judæorum seniores cohibere tumultus gentis suæ poterant, et Græcis turpissimum videbatur, Judæis inferiores videri. Præstabant autem hi quidem divitiis et corporum viribus, Græci vero auxilio militum ; magna siquidem pars Romanæ manus, de Syria illo fuerat congregata ; et quasi cognati, ad auxiliandum parati erant Syris. Præfecti autem militum curabant comprimere tumultum et pugnaces quosque comprehensos taureis ulciscebantur ac vinculis. Nec tamen supplicia comprehensorum, impedimentum aut timorem reliquis inferebant ; immo magis hoc ipso in seditionis irritabantur augmentum. Tunc demum Felix minaci edicto præcepit contumaces quosque urbe discedere ; non parentium autem, immissis militibus interfecit non paucos, quorum etiam bona direpta sunt. Manente autem seditione, nobiles utriusque partis electos, legatos misit ad Neronem de jure disceptaturos. |
Another disturbance broke out around Cæsarea, with conflict stirred up between the Jews, who were mixed in there, and the Syrians. The Jews claimed the city as their own on the ground that it had been founded by a Jew, King Herod. Their rivals agreed that the founder was a Jew, but declared that the city itself belonged to gentiles; Herod would not have set up statues and temples in it if he had meant it for the Jews. These were the arguments put forward by the two sides, and the dispute led to blows, all the aggressive types on both sides daily rushing forth to battle. The elder Jews were unable to restrain the riots of their own people, and the Greeks could not bear to be worsted by the Jews. The Jews had the advantage in material resources and bodily prowess; the Greeks enjoyed the help of the soldiers, for the majority of the Roman force there had come from Syria, and they were ready to help the Syrians as their blood relatives. The officers of the soldiers sought to suppress the riots and arrested all of the more pugnacious, punishing them with bullwhips and imprisonment. However, the punishment of those arrested failed to check or scare the remainder, who plunged all the more furiously into the rioting because of it. Finally, Felix in a threatening edict ordered all the scofflaws to get out of the city. Sending in the military, he killed quite a few of the disobedient ones and also took their property. As the rioting, however, continued, he picked out the leading men of both communities and sent them as ambassadors to Nero, to argue the merits of the case. |
|
| ⇑ § XIV |
Felici succedit Festus.
Huic Albinus.
Illi Florus, cujus immanitas
Judæos ad bellum compulit. | Festus succeeds Felix who is succeeded by Albinus as he is by Florus ; who by the barbarity of his government forces the Jews into the war. |
| 1 |
| Successit autem ei Festus et, hos qui maxime infestabant provinciam solicite persecutus, latronum plurimos comprehendit atque interfecit. |
Festus {in office A.D. 60-62} next succeeded Felix. He assiduously tackled those who harrassed the province worst: he captured and killed a large number of the bandits. |
— Caput B-13 —
De præsidibus Judææ Albino et Floro. |
| Verum successor ejus Albinus non eodem modo negotiis præfuit, neque enim fuit aliqua malignitatis species quam ille præterierit. Denique non solum causis civilibus furabatur et diripiebat bona singulorum, neque solum tributorum additamentis in commune gentem gravabat, sed etiam quos ob latrocinia decuriones civitatum comprehenderunt, vel qui a prioribus judicibus in custodiis erant relicti, accepta a cognatis eorum pecunia, liberavit ; et is solum qui non dedisset, in carceribus quasi nocentissimus remanebat. Per idem tempus, eorum quoque qui res novare cupiebant, in Hierosolymis crescit audacia. Ex quibus sane, qui erant opulenti Albinum largitione redimebant ut eis tumultum moventibus non indignaretur ; pars autem popularis quæ non satis gaudebat quiete, Albini participibus jungebatur. Unusquisque ergo improborum, cohorte propria circumdatus, ipse quidem inter ceteros quasi princeps latronum et tyrannus eminebat ; stipatoribus vero suis ad direptionem mediocrium abutebatur. Ita fiebat, ut hi quidem quorum vastabantur domus, tacerent, illi autem qui extra incommodum stetissent, metu ne similia paterentur, etiam officiis ambirent eos quos constabat dignos esse suppliciis. In commune autem omnium fuit intercepta fiducia. Et erat tunc multiplex dominatio, et semina captivitatis futuræ jam ab illo tempore spargebantur. |
Albinus {procurator A.D. 62-64}, who followed him, did not take care of his responsibilities in the same way, there being no kind of criminality that he omitted. Not content with committing theft through administrative measures and looting private property, or with overburdening the nation as a whole with surtaxes, he allowed those imprisoned for banditry by local courts or had been left in prison by his own predecessors to be set free through bribes by their relatives, and only the man who failed to pay was left in jail as being guilty in the extreme. During the same period the audacity of the revolutionaries in Jerusalem grew apace, and its leaders bribed Albinus not to take offense at the people who were provoking upheaval, while the part of the common people who were uninterested in peace joined forces with Albinus’s associates. Every scoundrel, surrounded by his own gang, stood out from his followers like a bandit chief or dictator and used his henchmen to rob ordinary citizens. The result was that those whose homes were being pillaged kept quiet, while those still immune, through fear of the same fate, showed deference to those who were clearly worthy of the death penalty. In general, trust ceased completely. Tyranny reigned everywhere; from then on the seeds of the coming conquest were being sown in the City. |
| 2 |
| Quum sane ejusmodi morum fuisset Albinus, tamen succedens ei Gessius Florus, optimum eum per comparationem sui fecit videri. Ille siquidem plura occulte et cum fraude nocuerat ; Gessius vero iniquitates suas in universam gentem, tam palam quasi gloriaretur exercuit, ac velut non ad regendam provinciam, sed ad damnatorum pœnas carnifex missus, neque rapinarum ullum morem, neque afflictionum prætermisit. In miseris autem crudelissimus erat, in turpibus vero impudentissimus. Neque enim quis illo amplius offendit fallacia veritatem, neque commentus est callidiores nocendi vias. Huic siquidem viritim illatis dispendiis lucra quærere exiguum visum est ; sed totas simul despoliabat urbes, et labes populis inferebat, tantum non voce per totam regionem edicens, liberum esse omnibus latrocinari, dum ipse prædarum acciperet portionem. Denique ob illius avaritiam contigit totam pæne deseri regionem, ita ut plurimi sedes patrias relinquentes, ad externas provincias commigrarent. |
While Albinus was a man of that kind of character, his successor Gessius Florus Albinus {last procurator, A.D. 64 —} made him appear a highly honorable man by comparison. Albinus for the most part did his mischief with secrecy and dissimulation; Gessius perpetrated his wrongs on the whole nation openly as though boasting of them and as if sent not to govern the province but as public executioner to punish condemned criminals, omitting no kind of robbery or violence. In cases that were piteous, he showed himself the cruelest of men, in disgraceful ones, the most shameless. No one ever perverted the truth with falsehood more than he or thought out more sophisticated ways to commit crime. Making a profit by shaking down one man at a time he considered petty: he stripped whole cities, ruined complete communities, and all but announced to the entire country that everyone could be a robber as long as he himself got a part of the booty. The result of his avarice was that almost the entire region became deserted, with many people leaving their ancestral homes and moving to foreign provinces. |
| 3 |
| Donec autem in Syria Cestius Gallus provinciam regebat, neque ausus quispiam Judæorum est, adversus Florum ad eum mittere legatos. Quum vero, instante Azymorum sollemnitate, ipse Hierosolymam venisset, occurrens multitudo quæ facile tricies centenorum milium fuit, precabatur ut gentis suæ calamitatibus subveniret, et pestem illam provinciæ Florum ut ejiceret, clamitabat. Qui tamen, quum sub populi ore esset et Gallo assisteret, non solum nihil movebatur, sed voces illas etiam deridebat. Cestius tamen, compescens impetum populi et edicens quod deinceps placatiorem eis Florum redderet, regressus est Antiochiam. Deduxit autem eum usque ad Cæsaream Florus, illudens mendaciis, et Judæorum genti bellum sedulo comminiscens, quo scilicet solo iniquitates suas occultari posse credebat. Pace siquidem permanente, habiturum se apud Cæsarem accusatores Judæos ; verum si defectionem negotiatus fuisset, majore utique malo abducendam a se esse invidiam peccatorum minorum. Igitur ut gens ab Romano abrumperetur imperio, sedulo in dies augebat calamitates. |
As long as Cestius Gallus was in Syria administering his province, none of the Jews dared to send emissaries to him with complaints against Florus; but when he arrived in Jerusalem on the eve of the Passover {(A.D. 66)}, the people crowded around — at least 3,000,000 {(a gross exaggeration)} of them — imploring him to come to the aid of the nation in its distress and to throw out Florus, the ruin of the province. Florus, facing the people and standing alongside Gallus, not only was unmoved, but even laughed at their protests. Cestius, however, quieted the excited crowd by assuring them that he would guarantee more reasonable conduct on Floras’ part in the future. Then he returned to Antioch. But Florus accompanied him as far as Cæsarea, disguising with mockery the plan he was carefully laying out for making war on the nation — by which alone, he believed, his own crimes could be hidden; for if peace lasted, the Jews would be accusing him to Cæsar, but if he could engineer a rebellion, any anger over his lesser crimes would be diverted from himself by the greater evil. So to ensure a nationwide revolt, he added daily to the general distress. |
| 4 |
| Per idem tempus apud Neronem Cæsarienses gentiles victores exstitere, decretumque istud contestantes litteras attulerunt — per quæ hoc bello Judaico dabatur exordium, duodecimo scilicet anno regni Neronis, decimoseptimo autem regni Agrippæ, mense Majo. |
Meanwhile the Greeks of Cæsarea secured from Nero control of the city and returned with the decision in writing. War broke out in the twelfth year of Nero’s reign and the seventeenth of Agrippa’s, in the month of May. |
— Caput B-14 —
De Floro sæviente in Judæos Cæsarienses, et Hierosolymitas. |
| Ad magnitudinem autem excitatorum de eo malorum, nequaquam idoneas causas habuisse deprehenditur. In Cæsarea siquidem habitantes Judæi, habebant synagogam prope locum, cujus erat dominus gentilis quidam Cæsariensis. Et frequenter quidem egerant ut ad eorum jus illa possessio jungeretur, multis partibus majus pretium quam res meruerat offerentes. Dominus autem loci preces eorum despexisse non contentus, ad majorem dolorem ædificavit in loco tabernas, ita ut angustum eis transitum et prorsus coarctatum relinqueret. Primum igitur ferventiores aliqui juvenum prosilientes ædificationem vetabant. Quum vero Florus hos a prohibendo cohiberet, non habentes Judæorum nobiles quid agerent, inter quos erat etiam Joannes publicanus, inflectunt Florum oblatione octo talentorum, ut ædificationem vetaret. Ille autem ob capiendum tantummodo promittens se cuncta facturum, accepta pecunia statim de Cæsarea egressus est, venitque in Sebasten, seditioni tribuens facultatem, quasi qui pugnæ spatium Judæorum summatibus vendidisset. |
It is clear that, in proportion to the disasters detonated by it, the causes were by no means comparable. The Jews in Cæsarea had a synagogue alongside a piece of ground whose landlord was some Cæsarean gentile. And they had repeatedly tried to get that property added to their own holdings, offering many times the real value. Not content with scorning their requests, to aggravate them further the landlord built shops on the spot in such a way that he left them a narrow and extremely tight passage. So the first thing was that some of the more hotheaded of the young men jumped in and blocked the construction. When Florus stopped them from interfering, the leading Jews, among them John the tax-collector, being at a loss as to what to do, in order to halt the construction gave Florus a bribe of eight talents. But he, just to get it, promised to do everything and, after receiving the money, immediately left Cæsarea for Sebaste, giving free rein to civil strife, as though he had sold the Jewish leadership permission for battle! |
| 5 |
| Sequenti autem die, Judæorum sabbato, quum plebs ad synagogam coisset, seditiosus quidam Cæsariensis vas Samium ante ingressum eorum ponens, alites immolabat. Hoc factum Judæos incoërcibiliter accendit, et Legem suam quippe contumeliam pertulisse, et locum ipsum dicebant fuisse pollutum. Pars autem Judæorum, quæ erat constantior atque moderatior, denuo apud judices esse conquerendum rebatur. Seditiosi autem et juventute turgentes Judæi, effundebantur in rixam. Stabant autem ad confligendum parati etiam Cæsariensium tumultuosiores. Ex composito quippe missus fuerat, qui pro synagogæ foribus immolaret ; sicque continuo est pugna commissa. Interveniens autem Jucundus, qui ad prohibendum erat relictus, præfectus equitum, vas illud quidem quod positum fuerat jussit auferri, et tumultum sedare pergebat. Quum vero superatus esset præ Cæsariensium violentia, Judæi statim libros Legis rapientes secesserunt in Narbata ; regio quædam eorum hoc nomine appellatur, dirempta a Cæsarea stadiis sexaginta. Primates autem eorum duodecim, cum Johanne in Sebastem ad Florum venerunt, de his quæ acciderant conquerentes, et ut auxilio esset rogabant, quamvis reverenter, tamen eum et de octo talentis admonentes. Ille vero ilico comprehensos eos vinciri jussit, arguens cur Leges de Cæsarea auferre ausi fuissent. |
The next day was a Sabbath, and when the Jews gathered in the synagogue, a Cæsaream partisan had placed a chamber-pot upside down at the entrance and was sacrificing birds on it. This infuriated the Jews unrestrainably, who felt that their Law had been violated and the site desecrated. The steadier, more restrained people thought another complaint ought to be lodged with the authorities; the quarrelsome element and the Jews bursting with youth poured out looking for a fight. The more tumultuous Cæsarean partisans, too, stood waiting to battle, for by prearrangement they had sent the man to sacrifice in front of the synagogue doors, and the clash came instantly. Jucundus, the cavalry officer detailed to prevent it, ordered the pot which had been placed there removed and proceeded to calm the riot down. But he was no match for the violence of the Cæsareans, so the Jews immediately seized the books of the Law and retired to Narbata, a Jewish region of this name seven miles from Cæsarea. John and twelve other influential citizens followed Florus to Sebaste, where they complained of what had happened and implored him to help, tactfully reminding him of the eight talents. He, however, arrested them on the spot and put them in prison, on the ground that they had dared to remove the rolls of the Law from Cæsarea. |
| 6 |
| Ob hoc igitur apud Hierosolymitanos gravissima indignatio nascebatur, verumtamen adhuc iram suam frenabant. Florus vero, quasi ad hoc operam suam locasset, ut bellum inflammaret, misit ad sacrum thesaurum ut inde decem et septeni talenta auferrentur, quasi eam pecuniam impensæ Cæsaris flagitaret. Tunc vero statim invasit populum multa confusio ; concurrentes ad Templum, maximis vocibus nomen Cæsaris appellabant, ut a tyrannide Flori liberarentur orantes. Quidam autem seditiosorum in Florum maledicta jaciebant ultima ; et canistrum circumferentes stĭpem ejus nomine postulabant, quasi inops et miserrimus talibus indigeret auxiliis. His autem omnibus nihil est a cupiditate deterritus, sed multo magis ad deprædandum irritatus est. Denique, quum deberet Cæsaream veniens ignem belli illic nascentis extinguere causasque tumultuum summovere, pro quo etiam mercedem acceperat pactus, tamen cum exercitu equitum atque peditum Hierosolymam contendit ut Romanis armis ad quod volebat uteretur, ac timore et minis Urbem circumdaret. |
Intense outrage arose among the people of Jerusalem because of this, but they still controlled their rage. Florus, however, as if he had contracted for this operation of his in order to fan the flame of war, sent to the Temple treasury and removed seventeen talents on the pretext that he was claiming the money for Cæsar’s budget. This immediately sent the people into uproar and they rushed in a body into the Temple, where with piercing yells they called on the name of Cæsar, imploring him to free them from Floras’ tyranny. Some of the rioters shouted the most extreme abuse at the latter and, going around with a collection basket, begged alms in his name, as though the impoverished and utterly woebegone creature needed such help. This did not cure his avarice but drove him all the more to pillaging. So when he ought to have gone to Cæsarea to extinguish the conflagration that was breaking out there and to remove the causes of the trouble — as he had been paid to do —, he dashed off to Jerusalem with an army of horse and foot, in order to get what he wanted with the help of Roman arms, and envelop the City with fear and intimidation. |
| 7 |
| Tunc populus, lenire ejus impetum volens, obviam militibus processit, cum solitis utique favoribus, et Florum honorare officiis paratus. Ille vero præmittens cum equitibus quinquaginta centurionem, nomine Capitonem, discedere eos jussit : Neve eum, in quem tam gravia maledicta jecissent, falso denuo honore deluderent. Oportere quippe eos, si viri sunt fortes, animique constantis, etiam in præsentem effundere contumelias ; nec solum in verbis, sed etiam in armis amorem libertatis ostendere. His dictis exterrita multitudo, simul etiam militibus qui cum Capitone venerant in medium vulgus irruentibus, diffugerunt, antequam Florum salutarent, aut militibus officia consueta redderent. Discedentes igitur in domos, cum metu atque humilitate pervigilem duxere noctem. |
The people, anxious to soften his attack, met the soldiers with the usual friendly greetings and prepared to receive Florus submissively. He, however, sent ahead fifty horsemen commanded by Capito, and ordered them to go away and not to mock with new-found cordiality the man they had abused so scandalously. If they were fearless and outspoken, they ought to make fun of him to his face, and show by force of arms as well as words that they loved liberty. This terrified the crowd, and when Capito’s troops simultaneously charged into their midst, they scattered before they could salute Florus or render the normal respects to the soldiers. Returning to their homes, they passed the night in fear and dejection. |
| 8 |
| Florus autem tunc quidem degit in regia, postridie autem adversum eos exstructo tribunali sublimius resedit ; convenientesque sacerdotum principes et Civitatis universa nobilitas, astiterunt tribunali. His præcepit Florus ut omnes qui maledicta in eum succlamassent, protinus dederent, edicens in ipsos esse, nisi reos produxerint, vindicandum. Ad hæc respondent Judæi, populum quidem pacifica quæque sentire, illis vero qui erravissent in verbis, veniam conferendam postulabant. In tanta siquidem multitudine, nihil esse mirandum, offendi aliquos temerarios, et per ætatem insipientes ; esse autem impossibile eorum qui deliquerint, discrimen agitari, quum et singulos nimirum pœniteat, et præ timore ad negandum sint parati. Debere tamen illum si consuleret gentis quieti, et vellet Romano imperio servare Urbem, magis propter multos innoxios dare veniam etiam paucis delinquentibus, quam propter paucos improbos perturbare multitudinem tantam bonorum. |
Florus slept in the Palace and the next day had a dais erected outside and took his seat. The chief priests, political leaders and eminent citizens lined up before this tribunal. Florus ordered them to give up the men who had abused him, declaring that they themselves would be punished if the culprits were not forthcoming. The Jewish leaders insisted that the people were peacefully disposed and apologized for those who had made the offending remarks; in such a mass of people there were bound to be some rash people and ignorant juveniles, and it was impossible to identify the miscreants when everyone was certainly conscience-stricken and afraid to confess his guilt. Florus ought to attend to the peaceful state of the nation and be interested in saving the City for the Roman Empire and, for the sake of the many innocent, pardon the few guilty, rather than, because of a few bad men, throw the lives of so many good ones into chaos. |
| 9 |
| Ad hæc vero, ille magna indignatione inflammatus, militibus exclamavit, ut Forum Rerum Venalium quod erat in superiori parte Civitatis, diriperent, ac passim obvios trucidarent. Illi vero, ad lucri sui cupidinem addita auctoritate rectoris, non solum illum diripuerunt locum in quem fuerant immissi, sed in universas insilientes domos, interficiebant habitatores. Fuga autem erat per angiporta omnia, et cædes eorum qui comprehendebantur ; direptionis quoque nulla species præteribatur. Multos autem etiam nobilium comprehendentes adduxerunt ad Florum, quos ille verberibus laniatos in crucem sustulit. Denique omnis numerus illo interfectorum die cum parvulis et mulieribus (neque enim vel lactantibus pepercerant) fuit sescenti et triginta. Graviorem autem faciebat calamitatem videri novitas Romanæ calamitatis ; quod enim nemo unquam prius, tunc Florus ausus est, ut viros scilicet equestris ordinis pro tribunali flagellis cæderet, ac patibulis affigeret, quorum etsi origo Judæa, tamen Romana dignitas erat. |
This plea made Florus still more furious, and he shouted to the soldiers to sack the Shopping Area in the upper part of the City and kill all they met. Their cupidity thus enhanced by their general’s authorization, they not only sacked the area to which they had been sent, but burst into all the houses and murdered the occupants. There followed a flight through all the narrow lanes and the slaughter of those who were caught; no form of rapine was left uncommitted. Many even among the nobles were seized and taken before Florus who had them scourged bloody and then crucified. The total number that perished that day, including women and children — for not even suckling infants were spared — came to about six hundred and thirty. The disaster was made all the more crushing by the unheard-of character of the Roman brutality. No one had ever dared to do what Florus did then — to scourge men of equestrian rank before the judgement seat and nail them to the cross, men who were indeed Jews, but all the same enjoyed Roman status. |
|
| ⇑ § XV |
De Berenice
frustra Florum obsecrante,
ut parceret Judæis.
Et quomodo Florus seditionem
exstinctam resuscitavit. | Concerning Bernice’s petition to Florus, to spare the Jews, but in vain ; as also how, after the seditious flame was quenched, it was kindled again by Florus. |
| 1 |
— Caput B-15 —
De alia oppressione Hierosolymorum dolo Flori. |
| Per idem tempus rex quidem Agrippa Alexandriam erat profectus ut Alexandrum qui Ægyptum procurabat, missus a Nerone, jure hospitis conveniret. Germanam autem suam Berenicen, Hierosolymis inventam, et iniquitatem militum videntem, gravis ob hoc angor invaserat. Et frequenter quidem præfectos equitum suorum, custodesque corporis mittens ad Florum precabatur, ut a cæde desineret. Ille vero neque in multitudinem interfectorum, neque in nobilitatem precatricis, sed tantum in lucra sua quæ de rapinis congregarentur, aspiciens, contempsit annuere ; impetus autem militum etiam adversum reginam efferatus est. Non solum quippe sub oculis ejus obvios quosque mulcabant atque trucidabant, sed etiam ipsam, nisi confugisset in aulam, interfecissent. Ibi autem pervigilem noctem cum intenta custodia egit, verens utique irruptionem militum. Venerat autem Hierosolymam, ut vota Deo solveret. His enim qui morbo vel aliis necessitatibus implicantur, mos est orare per triginta dies, antequam immolent hostias, abstinere quoque vino, et capillos radere. Quem morem Berenice regina illis exercens diebus, nudipes etiam ante tribunal stetit, deprecans Florum ; et præter quod nihil honoris habitum est, etiam de vita sua periclitata est. |
At this time it happened that King Agrippa had travelled to Alexandria to congratulate {(Tiberius)} Alexander, who had been entrusted with Egypt by Nero and sent there as governor. However, his sister Berenice was in Jerusalem and, seeing the criminal conduct of the soldiers, was horrified by it. She repeatedly sent her cavalry commanders and bodyguards to Floras to beg him to stop the slaughter. He, caring nothing for the number of victims or the high rank of the petitioner, but only for the profit which he made out of the loot, despised her appeals; and the mad fury of the soldiers was even directed against the queen — not only did they beat and kill everyone before her eyes; they would actually have killed her if she had not escaped in time into the royal palace and spent the night awake there with her watchful guards, fearing an attack of the soldiers. She had come to Jerusalem to perform a vow to God; it is usual for those who are sick or in distress to pray for thirty days before they sacrifice, to abstain from wine and shave their heads. These vows Berenice was then performing, and she stood barefoot before the tribunal appealing to Florus; but beside the fact that no respect was paid to her, she was even put in danger of her life. |
| 2 |
| Hæc autem facta sunt sextodecimo die mensis Maji. Postridie autem conveniens multitudo in Forum, quod erat in superiori parte Civitatis, magnis clamoribus de his qui interfecti fuerant, querebantur, potissimum autem invidiosæ in Florum voces erant ; quod veriti, primates quique et pontifices, disruptis vestibus et viritim singulos comprehendentes, postulabant, ut ab his verbis, quorum causa tanta mala pertulerant, desisterent, neque in majorem indignationem Florum moverent. Sicque sedata est multitudo, tam reverentia precantium quam spe quod nequaquam Florus ultra in eos sæviret. |
These events occurred on the 16th of May. The next day the crowd in great distress swarmed into the Marketplace in the upper part of the City, shrieking and lamenting for the dead and above all calling down curses on Floras. This alarmed the influential citizens and chief priests, who rent their clothes and, falling down before one man after another, begged them to desist from such language — on account of which they had suffered so much — and not to provoke Florus to commit some greater outrage. Thus the crowd became quiet, both out of respect for the petitioners and in the hope that Florus would not commit any more crimes against them. |
| 3 |
| Ille autem, videns multitudinis tumultum fuisse compressum, angebatur, et denuo eam inflammare cupiens, pontifices cum nobilibus advocavit. Itaque unum ait argumentum fore, quod nihil ulterius de novandis rebus cogitaret, si populus obviam procederet militibus de Cæsarea venientibus ; veniebant autem duæ cohortes. Qui quum convocasset populum ad occurrendum, mandat centurionibus ut nullam salutationem redderent obviantibus Judæis. Ad quod si offensi petulanter quippiam essent locuti, statim in eos uterentur armis. Pontifices ergo, collecta multitudine in Templo, precabantur ut occurrerent Romanis et, ante grave incommodum, cohortes sollemniter salutarent. His hortationibus seditiosi quique abnuebant, et ob interfectorum dolorem reliqua multitudo jungebatur audacibus. |
But Herod, seeing that the people’s unrest had been surpressed, was annoyed and, seeking to rekindle the flames, summoned the chief priests and prominent citizens and said that the only way of proving that the people would not revolt again was to go out and meet the troops approaching from Cæsarea — two cohorts were on the way. While the people were still being collected, he sent orders to the centurions of the cohorts to instruct their men not to return the Jews’ salutes, and if they impudently uttered anything against him to use their weapons against them. The chief priests assembled great numbers in the Temple and urged them to meet the Romans and, before a serious disaster happened, to welcome the cohorts. The insurgent element rejected these exhortations and, due to their agony over those killed, the rest of the people joined the bolder spirits. |
| 4 |
| Tunc vero omnes sacerdotes omnesque levitæ sacra vasa proferentes ornatumque Templi, citharistæ etiam et cantores cum musicis organis procidebant ante multitudinem, et obnixissime precabantur, ut illum Templi honorem custoditum esse vellent, neque ad direptionem vasorum sacrorum Romanos contumeliis incitarent. Erat autem videre ipsos sacerdotum principes sparsis cinere capitibus, et pectora disruptis vestibus nuda monstrantes, nominatim singulos quosque nobilium compellare, ac denuo in commune multitudinem precari, ne ob modicum peccatum patriam suam proderent his qui direptioni ejus inhiarent. ¿ Quam enim utilitatem vel militibus esse de Judæorum salutatione tribuendam ; vel illis quæ acciderant, correctionem, si in præsenti procedere cessarent ? At contra, si officiose susciperent sollemniter venientes, auferri Floro occasionem pugnæ ; ipsos vero salvare patriam suam, et providere ne quid ultra quam pertulerant, experirentur. His addunt, quod paucis seditiosis si tanta multitudo jungatur, hoc magis ad pacificum consilium suam deberent auctoritatem transferre. |
Thereupon every priest and every levite brought out the sacred vessels and put on the Temple vestments, the harpers and singers appeared with their musical instruments, and they all fell down and earnestly implored the people to seek to guard the honor of the Temple and not provoke the Romans with insults to plunder the sacred vessels. The chief priests themselves were to be seen heaping dust on their heads, their clothes rent and their breasts bared. They appealed by name to each of the prominent citizens and collectively to the crowd not by some trivling offense to betray their country to men who lusted to sack it. What advantage would the soldiers gain by being greeted by the Jews? Or would there be recompense for what had happened if they did not go out now? If they gave them a courteous welcome, Florus would be deprived of the opportunity for war, and they themselves would save their country and see to it that they would not suffer anything more than what they already had. To these arguments they added that if such a great multitude were joined to the few rebels, the latter would thereby be obligated to switch their own policy to a more peaceful strategy. |
| 5 |
| Tali hortatu multitudinem inflectentes, etiam ipsos seditionis auctores quosdam quidem minis, quosdam autem sui reverentia mitigaverunt ; ac deinceps præcedentes cum quiete omni populo sequente, militibus obviam prodierunt. Jamque comminus factos salutaverunt ; illis autem nihil respondentibus, seditiosi Judæorum adversum Florum, cujus hæc fierent consiliis, succlamaverunt. Confestimque milites comprehendentes eos, cædere fustibus adorti sunt ; atque in fugam versos persequentes equites proculcabant. Corruebant autem multi quidem quum a Romanis cæderentur, plures autem quum se mutuo propellerent. In ipsis autem portis gravis facta est compressio et, uno quoque alterum prævenire cupiente, tardior fuga cunctis fiebat. Collabentium vero durus erat interitus. Suffocatu enim atque conculcatu miseri disperibant, et neque ad sepulturam quisquam proximis suis cognoscendus remanebat. Irruebant autem etiam pariter milites immoderate, eos quos comprehendissent cædentes ; et per ingressum qui Bezetha vocatur detrudebant multitudinem, transire cupientes ut Antoniam et Templum obtinerent. Quos etiam Florus consecutus, eduxit de regia eos qui secum erant, et in arcem transire nitebatur. Frustratus tamen est ejus impetus. Conversus quippe adversum eos populus repugnavit, et per tecta evadentes obruebant saxis Romanos. Qui quum superne venientibus sagittis vincerentur, nec possent defendere multitudinem quæ per angustos artabatur ingressus, ad reliquum se exercitum qui erat in regia receperunt. |
With these arguments they quieted the crowd while the insurgents themselves yielded, some to threats, others to authority. Then, leading the way, they went quietly and in good order to meet the column and, when the soldiers came near, saluted them; but when they met with no response, the insurgents among the Jews began to vilify Florus, in accordance with whose scheme these things were happening. In a flash the soldiers had surrounded and begun to club them; when they fled, the cavalry pursued them and trampled them down. Many fell under the blows of the Romans, more when they were crushed by one another. Around the gates themselves there was frightful congestion: as everyone raced to get in first, the flight was slowed down for them all, and those who stumbled met a horrible end; suffocated and crushed to pulp beneath countless feet, they were unrecognizable when their kinsfolk came to bury them. The soldiers poured in unrestrainedly with the fugitives, raining blows on any they caught, and drove the crowd through the entrance called Bezetha, in an effort to force their way through and seize the Temple and Antonia. For the same purpose Florus led his own men out of the Palace and endeavored to reach the fortress. But the attempt failed; for the people swung around to face them and fought back, then went up on the roofs and pelted the Romans with rocks. Being overcome by the arrows raining down on them from above and unable to ward off the crowd which was packed in through the narrow lanes, they retreated to the rest of the army which was in the Palace area. |
| 6 |
| Seditiosi autem, verentes ne superveniens denuo Florus Templum occuparet, per Antoniam ex Templo ascendentes, porticus a Templo ad Antoniam continentes interciderunt, quatenus avaritiam Flori desperatione compescerent. Nam quum divinis inhiaret thesauris, proque his in Antoniam transgredi niteretur, ubi intercisas porticus vidit, ab impetu conquievit. Et convocans sacerdotum principes atque Curiam, se quidem ait urbe digredi, præsidium tamen apud eos relinquere quantum ipsi voluissent. Ad hæc illis respondentibus, nihil novandum fore si unam tantum relinqueret apud eos cohortem, dum tamen non illam quæ cum civibus paulo ante conflixerat (ob ea siquidem quæ pertulere populum illis militibus infensum esse) ; cohorte sicut precabantur mutata, cum reliqua manu Cæsaream regressus est. |
The insurgents, afraid that Florus would come on again and seize the Temple, climbing through the Antonia from the Temple, cut a gap in the colonnades that linked Antonia with the Temple, so that by making the prospect hopeless they quelled the avarice of Florus; for it was the treasures of God he was after, and for this reason he was trying to get into Antonia, so that when he saw that the colonnades were severed, he desisted from his attack. He sent for the chief priests and the Sanhedrin, and told them that he was going to quit the City but would leave them as big a garrison as they wanted. In reply they said there would be no rebellion if he left just one cohort with them, but not the one that had attacked the people shortly before, as the people hated it because of what they had suffered. So he changed the cohort as requested, and with the rest of his forces went back to Cæsarea. |
|
| ⇑ § XVI |
Cestius mittit
Neapolitanum tribunum
ad res Judæorum explorandas.
Agrippa orationem habet
ad Judæos, ut ipsos
a bello adversus Romanos
dehortaretur. | Cestius sends Neopolitanus the tribune to see in what condition the affairs of the Jews were. Agrippa makes a speech to the people of the Jews that he may divert them from their intentions of making war with the Romans. |
| 1 |
— Caput B-16 —
De Neapolitano tribuno, et oratione Agrippæ ad Judæos ad obœdiendum Romanis hortantis. |
| Aliud autem denuo pugnæ consilium comminiscens, rettulit ad Cestium, et Judæos defectionis criminatus est, impudenti mendacio illos perpetrasse dicens quæcunque eos pertulisse constabat. Nec sane principes Hierosolymorum quæ gesta fuerant, tacuerunt ; sed et ipsi et Berenice ad Cestium de his quæ Florus inique in Urbe egerat, rettulerunt. Ille autem, susceptis litteris partis utriusque, quid facto opus esset cum principibus deliberabat. Et quibusdam quidem videbatur, cum exercitu in Judæam Cestium ire debere, et aut vindicare defectionem, si fuisset admissa, aut magis fidos reddere Judæos eorumque accolas. Ipsi tamen magis placuit aliquem de suis præire, qui et negotia et consilia Judæorum posset ei fideliter nuntiare. Mittit ergo tribunum Neapolitanum qui, ab Alexandria revertenti Agrippæ circa Jamniam occurrens, et a quo fuisset missus et ob quas causas indicat. |
As a further inducement to hostilities, Florus sent Cestius a report accusing the Jews of a revolt, with a shameless lie saying that they had perpetrated whatever was proven about what they had suffered. The Jerusalem magistrates did not take this lying down; they and Berenice too wrote to Cestius about the crimes which Florus had committed against the City. Cestius read the communications from both parties and consulted his officers about what should be done. Some advised him to go at once to Jerusalem at the head of an army, and either punish the revolt, if real or, otherwise, strengthen the allegiance of the Jews and their neighbors; but he thought it better to send one of his colleagues first who could reliably report on the affairs and plans of the Jews. So he sent the tribune Neapolitanus, who at Jamnia met King Agrippa on his way home from Alexandria, and told him who had sent him and why. |
| 2 |
| Quo loci Judæorum etiam pontifices et reliqui nobiles eorumque Curia adesse curaverant ut circa regem scilicet officia novarent. Postea vero quam illum congrua humanitate coluerunt, conquesti sunt quam potuerunt flebiliter de calamitatibus propriis, et inhumanitatem Flori explicaverunt. Quam licet argueret Agrippa, vafre tamen invectionem suam in Judæos transtulit, quorum maxime miserebatur, volens scilicet frenare eorum motus, ut per hoc ipsum quod viderentur nihil perpessi injuriæ, ab ultionis desinerent appetitu. Ad hæc ergo quicunque egregii erant, et propter sua prædia desiderabant quietem, intelligebant regis redargutionem esse plenam benignitatis. Populus autem, Hierosolymorum sexaginta stadiis obviam progressus, officiose Agrippam et Politanum suscepit. Lamentabantur tamen interfectos conjuges mulieres ; quarum plangoribus reliquus quoque populus ad lamenta conversus, precabatur Agrippam ut genti consuleret. Succlamabant etiam Neapolitano ut ingrederetur Urbem videretque quæ essent a Floro gesta ; et ita ostendebant Forum desertum domosque vastatas. Deinceps vero per Agrippam suasere Neapolitano, ut is cum uno tantum famulo ad Siloam usque totam circuiret Civitatem ; quatenus ipsis cognosceret oculis, Judæos omnibus quidem aliis parere Romanis, soli autem Floro adversari propter magnitudinem in eos factæ crudelitatis. Ille igitur quum circuisset urbem, et mansuetudinis populi sufficiens documentum teneret, ascendit in Templum, quo etiam multitudinem convocavit ; et quum plurimis verbis fidem eorum circa Romanos collaudasset, multa etiam ad conservationem pacis hortatus, adoravit Deum ejusque Sancta, in eo tamen consistens loco in quo licebat per religionem ; sicque regressus ad Cestium est. |
There too the Jews’ chief priests, with the leading citizens and the Sanhedrin, arrived to renew their respects to the king. After paying homage they began tearfully to bewail their own calamities and to describe the savagery of Florus. This shocked Agrippa, but he discreetly turned his indignation on the Jews, whom he greatly pitied, wishing to restrain their revanchism so that by thereby getting the impression that it was not unjustly that they had suffered, it might dampen their ardor for revenge. They, being men of position and property-owners with a personal interest in peace, realized that the king’s reprimand was kindly meant. But the people came from seven miles out of Jerusalem to welcome Agrippa and Neapolitanus, with the widows bewailing their slain husbands, and the people replying to their weeping with lamentations. They implored Agrippa to help them, and cried for Neapolitanus to come into the City and see what Florus had done to them. They then showed them the desolate Marketplace and sacked houses. Next with Agrippa’s help they persuaded Neapolitanus to walk around the whole City as far as Siloam with one attendant, and see for himself that the Jews were submissive to all other Romans and bitter only against Florus because of his appalling savagery. Going through the City, Neapolitanus found proof enough of their docility, so he went up into the Temple. There he assembled the people, praised them highly for their loyalty to Rome, and urged them strongly to keep the peace. Then, standing in the place allowed by the religion, he made obeisance to God and his Sanctuary; and having done so, he returned to Cestius. |
| 3 |
| Vulgus autem Judæorum, ad regem pontificesque conversus, petebat ut legati adversum Florum ad Neronem mitterentur, neque de tanta cæde tacentes suspicionem suæ defectionis præberent ; visum iri quippe eos principes capiendorum armorum fuisse, nisi prævenientes ostendissent illum esse qui dedisset exordium ; constabat autem multitudinem non esse quieturam, si legationem aliquis impedisset. Ad hæc Agrippa, ordinari quidem legatos qui Florum accusarent, invidiosum putabat ; despicere autem Judæos in bella commotos neque sibi expedire cernebat. Advocata igitur contione in xystum, et in suggesto constituens germanam suam Berenicen, in Asamonæorum domo (ea siquidem xysto imminebat contra superiorem partem urbis ; nam xysto Templum erat ponte conjunctum) hujusmodi orationem habuit: |
The Jewish crowd now turned to the king and the chief priests, begging them to send envoys to Nero to denounce Florus and not, by keeping silent about his massacres, give rise to suspicions of a Jewish revolt. For they would be thought to have started hostilities if they were not quick to point out the real aggressor. It was evident that they would not take it quietly if anyone tried to block sending the delegation. Agrippa realized that to appoint men to accuse Florus would be provocative, but he saw that it was also not in his interest to ignore the Jews who were frenzied for war. So he summoned the crowd into the Plaza, placing his sister Berenice on the balcony atop the Hasmonean Palace. (The Palace overlooked the Plaza bordering the upper part of the City; for the Temple was linked with the Plaza by a bridge.) Then he began: |
| 4 |
| « Si quidem viderem vos omnes ad pugnandum cum Romanis esse incitatos, neque populi puriorem sincerissimamque partem pacem velle servare, neque processissem ad vos, neque consulere confisus essem : supervacua quippe de utilibus oratio est, quando omnium auditorum conspirat ad deteriora consensus. Quoniam vero aliquos quidem ætas, malorum belli nescios facit, quosdam vero inconsiderata spes libertatis, nonnullos vero avaritia succendit, et in confusione rerum capiendum de inferioribus lucrum, quemadmodum ipsi ab hoc errore corrigantur, et non per paucorum improba consilia etiam boni dispereant, existimavi oportere ut omnibus vobis in unum coactis ea exponerem, quæ arbitror expedire. Obstrepat autem nemo, si non ea audierit quæ ipsius fert libido. His siquidem qui sunt ad defectionem irrevocabiliter incitati, 1icebit etiam post meos monitus manere in pristina voluntate. Mea autem etiam ad illos qui audire cupiunt intercipietur oratio, nisi ab omnibus vobis silentium præbeatur. |
“If I had found you all eager for war with the Romans, and the most honest and sincere section of the people not bent on keeping the peace, I would not have had the confidence to come forward to address you or ventured to give advice, for it is a waste of breath to say anything in favor of a wise course when the audience is unanimously in favor of a foolish one. But some of you are young men with no experience of the horrors of war, others are too sanguine about the prospects of independence, and others are led on by selfish ambition and the profit to be made out of weaker men in the chaos. So in the hope that the errors of these people may be corrected, and that good people may not perish because of the evil propaganda of a few, I felt obliged to call you together and tell you what I think is best. Please do not interrupt me if you disapprove of what I say; for those who have absolutely made up their mind to revolt will be free to feel the same after hearing my views, but my words will be lost even on those who want to listen unless everyone keeps quiet. |
| « Novi quidem quod multi et injurias procurantium provincias, et præconia libertatis quasi tragice prosequantur. Ego autem priusquam discutiam qui sitis, et contra quos bellum suscipere tentetis, primum separabo causas quas connexas putatis. Si enim violatores vestros cupitis ulcisci, cur libertatem magna laude attollitis ? Si vero istud ipsum servire intolerabile ducitis, superflua est adversum rectores querela. Illis siquidem vel moderatissime agentibus, nihilominus turpe erit servire. |
“Now I am aware that many describe rather histrionically the insolence of the procurators and rhapsodize about the attractions of liberty; but before I go into the question of who you are and whom you are planning to fight, I must first separate out the causes you think involved. If you are trying to avenge your wrongs, why do you prate about liberty? If, on the other hand, slavery seems unbearable, it is a waste of time to blame your rulers; even if they were the mildest of men, it would still be disgraceful to be slaves. |
| « Considerate autem singillatim, et videte quam exigua sit materia bellorum. Et primum quidem ipsa rectorum consideranda sunt crimina. Colere siquidem officiis, non exasperare oportet jurgiis potestatem. Quum vero modicorum peccatorum exprobrationes maximas facitis, adversum vos profecto eos quibus infertis contumelias irritatis. Relinquentes quippe et quod antea clanculo et cum quadam verecundia nocebant, palam vos confidenterque populantur. Nihil autem ita plagas coërcet ut patientia, et violatorum quies violantibus injicit pudorem. Fac autem eos qui a Romanis in provincias mittuntur esse graviter molestos, non tamen etiam Romani omnes violant vos, neque ipse Cæsar, adversum quem pugnare vultis. Neque enim ex præcepto illorum improbus ad vos quisquam venit, neque possunt illi, quæ in Oriente geruntur, positi in Occidente conspicere. Sed neque facile ea quæ hic fiunt, illic audiuntur. Est autem importunissimum et propter exiguas causas cum tantis, et ea de quibus querimur nescientibus, velle confligere. Et quidem nostrorum criminum cito erit futura correctio. Neque enim unus atque idem provinciæ semper curam tenebit, et successores ejus credibile est modestiores futuros. Motum autem semel bellum neque deponere facile est absque magnis calamitatibus, neque sustinere. |
“Think about this one step at a time, and see how feeble are your grounds for war. First, the charges against the procurators. You should flatter the authorities, not provoke them with arguments; when for trifling errors you pile on reproaches, you goad the men whom you are thereby attacking into being against you; abandoning the practice of injuring you secretly and shamefacedly, they plunder you openly. Nothing damps an aggressor like patient submission, and the meekness of the persecuted puts the persecutor to shame. I grant that the ministers of Rome are unbearably harsh; does it follow that all the Romans are persecuting you, including Cæsar? Yet it is on him that you are going to make war! It is not by their wish that an unscrupulous governor comes from Rome, and western eyes cannot see the goings-on in the east; nor is it easy for things which happen here to be heard there. It would be absurd because of the trifling misdemeanors of one man to go to war with a whole nation, and such a nation — a nation that does not even know what it is all about! Our grievances can be quickly put right; one and the same procurator will not be here for ever, and his successors are likely to be more reasonable. But once set afoot, it is not easy either to stop war or sustain it without terrible disasters. |
| « Libertatis vero bona sitientibus providendum atque certandum est ut principio non ea careant. Molesta enim est novitas servitutis, quam ne utique subeas, justum suscipi certamen videtur. Qui vero semel subjectus est et deinceps deficit, contumax magis servus quam amator libertatis ostenditur. Tunc igitur oportuit omnia agere, ne susciperentur Romani, quum in provinciam Pompejus intraret. Majores vero nostri eorumque reges, pecunia, corporibus, animis multo vobis meliores, exiguæ parti potentiæ Romanæ obsistere nequiverunt. Vos autem, qui hereditariam obœdientiam suscepistis, rebus autem omnibus illis qui primi paruere longe inferiores estis, contra omne Romanorum regnum obsistere posse arbitramini ? |
“But the people thirsting after the delights of freedom ought to make every effort and fight so that they do not lose it in the first place. For the beginning of slavery is painful, and to escape it altogether any effort is justified; but the man who has once submitted and subsequently revolts is a refractory slave, not a lover of liberty. Thus the time when we ought to have done everything to keep the Romans out was when the country was invaded by Pompey. But our ancestors and their kings, with economic, physical and mental resources far superior to yours, faced a mere fraction of the Roman army and could not stop them; do you think you, who have learned submission from your fathers and are so ill provided compared with those who first submitted, can stand up to the whole Roman Empire? |
| « Et Athenienses quidem, qui ob Græcorum libertatem patriam suam quondam ignibus tradidere, qui superbissimum illum Xerxem per terram navigantem, per mare vero ambulantem, et cujus classem non caperet amplitudo pelagi, latiorem autem Europā duceret exercitum, hunc, inquam, cum una nave fugientem gloriosissime persecuti sunt ; circa parvam autem Salaminem qui tantas opes Asiæ confregere, nunc tamen serviunt Romanis, et illam regiam Græciæ civitatem administrant Italiæ jussiones. Lacedæmonii quoque, post Thermopylas et Plateas, et Agesilaum Asiam perscrutatum, eosdem dominos venerantur. Macedones vero qui adhuc pæne imaginantur Philippum videre, cum Alexandro promittentem sibi orbis imperium, ferunt tamen rerum mutationem, et adorant eos ad quos fortuna migravit. Aliæ quoque multæ gentes ad libertatem fiduciā subnixæ, et multo majores, cesserunt tamen et obœdiunt ; vos autem soli servire dedignamini his quibus videtis universa esse subjecta. |
“Think of the Athenians: to preserve the liberty of Greece they once consigned their city to the flames. When proud Xerxes sailed across land and marched across water and, counting the seas no barrier, led an army too big for Europe to hold, they gloriously chased him — him, I say — away in a single ship like a runaway slave. Near little Salamis they broke such great forces of Asia — and today they are slaves of Rome, and the city that once lorded it over Greece takes her orders from Italy! Think of the Spartans: after Thermopylæ and Platæa, after Agesilaus who swept across Asia, they are happy under the same masters. Think of the Macedonians: they still dream of Philip, with Alexander, promising them world empire; yet they endure this complete transformation and pay homage to the new recipients of Fortune’s favors. Other nations by the thousand, bursting with greater determination to assert their liberty, no longer resist. Will you alone refuse to serve the masters of the whole world? |
| « ¿ Quibus exercitibus, quibus confiditis armis ? ¿ Ubi est classis vestra quæ pervagetur Romanorum maria ? ¿ Ubi autem, qui expensis possint sufficere, thesauri ? ¿ Contra Ægyptios forte aut Arabas existimatis vos bellum movere ? ¿ Non circumspicitis Romanorum imperium ? ¿ Non metimini vestram imbecillitatem ? ¿ Nonne scitis vestram Civitatem a conterminis gentibus frequenter esse superatam, illorum autem virtus per totum orbem invicta percurrit — immo, etiam hoc orbe plus aliquid quæsierunt ? Neque enim sufficit eis ad Orientem quidem totus Euphrates, ad Septentrionem, Ister, neque in Meridie solitudine tenus perscrutata Libya, neque in Occidente Gades ; sed ultra Oceanum alium quæsierunt orbem, et usque ad Britannias, inaccessas prius, arma et exercitum transtulerunt. ¿ Quid ergo ? ¿ Vosne ditiores Gallis, fortiores Germanis, prudentiores Græcis ? ¿ Postremo, plures estis omnibus in toto orbe degentibus ? ¿ Quæ vos fiducia adversum Romanos erigit ? |
“Where are the men, where are the weapons you count on? Where is the fleet that is to sweep the Roman seas? Where are the funds to pay for your expenditures? Do you think you are going to war with Egyptians and Arabs? Look at the far-flung empire of Rome and contrast your own impotence. Don’t you see that our City has often been conquered by neighboring peoples, while their power pervades, unconquered, the entire earth — indeed, they have even gone after something beyond this earth? They are not satisfied with the entire Euphrates to the east, or the Danube to the north, or Libya explored all the way to the desert in the south, or Cadiz to the West; but they have gone after a new world beyond the Ocean, carrying their arms and army all the way to Britain, hitherto inaccessible. Why not face facts? Are you richer than the Gauls, stronger than the Germans, cleverer than the Greeks, more numerous than all the nations of the world? What gives you the confidence to defy the power of Rome? |
| « Sed dicet aliquis, servire molestissimum est. ¿ At quanto magis id Græcis, qui universis sub sole habitantibus videbantur præstare nobilitate et, tam latam quondam provinciam possidentes, nunc bis ternis fascibus Romanorum obœdiunt ? Totidem autem etiam Macedones obsequuntur, qui certe multo vobis justius deberent libertatem tueri. ¿ Quid autem quingentæ Asiæ civitates ? ¿ Nunquid non absque ullo præsidio, uni tantummodo rectori parent, et fascibus consulis obsequuntur ? ¿ Quid autem pergam enumerare Heniochos, et Colchos, et Taurorum gentem ; Bosphoranos quoque, et habitantes circa Ponti litora nationes, Mæoticasque gentes ? Apud quas nimirum olim neque domesticus aliquis dominus noscebatur ; nunc vero militum subjiciuntur tantum tribus milibus, et quadraginta naves longæ innavigabile prius mare in pace custodiunt. ¿ Quanta autem Bithynia, et Cappadocia, et Pamphyliorum gens, Lycii quoque et Cilices pro libertate dicere valerent ? Tamen nunc sine armis tributa pendunt. |
“It is terrible to be enslaved, it will be said. How much worse is it for the Greeks, who surpass every nation under the sun in nobility and, once possessing such a wide domain, now obey the twice-three fasces of the Romans, as do just as many Macedonians, who have a better right than you to demand their liberty! And what of the five hundred cities of Asia? Do they not without a garrison bow before one governor and the consular fasces? Need I mention the Heniochi, the Colchians, and the Tauric race, the peoples near the Bosporus, the Black Sea and the Sea of Asov? Truly, at one time they did not even recognize a native ruler, and now they submit to only 3,000 legionaries, while forty warships keep the peace on a sea formerly unnavigable. How justly Bithynia, Cappadocia, Pamphylia, Lycia and Cilicia might argue for their freedom! Yet without armed pressure they pay their dues. |
| « ¿ Quid autem Thraces ? Quinque quidem diebus in latum, septem autem in longum commeabilem provinciam possidentes, asperioremque multo quam vestra est, ac multis partibus fortiorem, altissimoque gelu eos qui irruerint retardantem, duobus milibus Romanorum in præsidio manentibus obsequuntur. Post hos Illyrici usque ad Dalmatiam, et Istro tenus incolentes, duabus tantum legionibus obœdiunt — cum quibus et ipsi impetus compescunt Dacorum. Ipsi quoque Dalmatæ, qui tam multa pro libertate conati, sæpiusque capti, rursum cum majoribus opibus rebellarunt, nunc sub una Romanorum legione agunt quietem. |
“Then there are the Thracians, spread over a country five days’ march in width and seven in length, more rugged and much more defensible than yours, a country whose icy blasts slow down an invader. Yet they obey 2,000 garrisoned Romans. Their neighbors, the Illyrians, whose land extends from Dalmatia to the Danube frontier, obey only two legions — in league with whom they themselves check the Dacian raids. The Dalmatians themselves, who have so often tried to gain their liberty and, yet more often captured, again fought back with greater forces, now live peaceably under one Roman legion! |
| « Verumtamen si aliquos magnæ causæ ad defectionem incitare deberent, Gallos potissimum oporteret assurgere, quos videlicet tantis munimentis natura cinxisset ; ab Orientali plaga Alpium montibus, a septentrionali Rheno flumine ; a meridie Pyrenæis montibus, ab Occidente vero Oceano. Sed tali munitione gaudentes, trecentis et quindecim gentibus numerosi, fontes autem (ita ut dixerim) felicitatis domesticæ habentes, omnibusque bonis totum pæne orbem irrigantes, ferunt nihilominus vectigales esse Romanorum, ac felicitatem suam in eorum felicitate reponere. Idque sane ipsum, non per animorum mollitiem, nec propter ignobilitatem parentum (quippe qui per octoginta annos pro libertate pugnaverunt) sed Romanorum admirati sunt horrueruntque cum virtute fortunam qua illi plura sæpe obtinuere quam bellis. Denique sub mille et ducentis militibus serviunt, quibus pæne plures habuerunt civitates. |
“But if powerful reasons should incite any people to rebel, the insurgents ought to be the Gauls, whom nature has surrounded with such great defenses: on the east the Alps; on the north the Rhine; on the south the Pyrenees; and on the west the Ocean. Yet in spite of enjoying these immense bulwarks, in spite of their huge total of three hundred and fifteen tribes, in spite of the prosperity that wells up (as I might put it) from their soil and enables them to flood the whole world with their goods, they submit to being tributaries of the Romans and placing their own prosperity in theirs! And this they tolerate, not from effeminacy or racial inferiority — they fought for eighty years to save their liberty — but because they stand in wonder and awe at the might and destiny of Rome, which wins her more victories than do her arms. So Gaul is kept servile by 1,200 soldiers — hardly more men than she has cities! |
| « Neque Hispanis nascens in agris aurum pro libertate bella gerentibus profuit, neque tanto terrarum marisque spatio a Roma diremptæ gentes, Lusitani scilicet et pugnaces Cantabri, nec vicinus Oceanus, etiam accolis suis fragore terribilis ; sed ultra columnas Herculis prolatis armis, et per ipsas nubes Pyrenæorum montium eluctati vertices, ditioni suæ hos quoque subdiderunt Romani ; atque ita bellicosis gentibus, tantoque (ut dixi) spatio diremptis, legio in præsidio una satis est. |
“Then Spain — in the fight for independence the gold from her soil could not save her, nor could the vast stretch of land and sea that separates her from Rome, nor the tribes of Lusitania and Cantabria with their passion for fighting, nor the neighboring Ocean that terrifies even the natives with its fearsome roar. Crossing the cloud-capped Pyrenees and advancing their arms beyond the Pillars of Hercules, the Romans enslaved Spain too. Yet to guard such bellicose peoples, separated (as mentioned) by such a great distance, requires but one legion! |
| « ¿ Quis vestrum non audivit multitudinem Germanorum ? — virtutem quoque et magnitudines corporum (ut arbitror) sæpe vidistis. Siquidem ubique Romani earum gentium captivos habent. Sed illi ita ingentem spatiis regionem incolentes, spiritus autem majores corporibus gerentes, et animam quidem contemptricem mortis, indignationes autem vehementiores feris, nunc Rhenum limitem habent, et octo Romanorum legionibus domantur ; et serviunt quidem qui capti sunt, reliqua autem eorum gens universa salutem in fuga, non in armis, reponit. |
“Which of you has not heard of the Germans, with their inexhaustible manpower? You have, I believe, seen their physical strength and size on many occasions, for on every side Romans have captives of their peoples; yet this people occupies an immense area, their physique is surpassed by their courage and, moreover, a soul that despises death, rages fiercer than wild beasts. Yet the Rhine is now their border and they are kept subdued by eight Roman legions; the prisoners are enslaved and the rest of their entire nation seeks safety in flight, not in fight. |
| « Considerate autem etiam Britannorum muros, qui Hierosolymæ confiditis muris. Illos siquidem circumdatos Oceano, et pæne non minorem quam noster orbis est habitantes, Romani navigantes redegerunt in ditionem suam ; quattuorque legiones tantæ magnitudinis insulam tuentur. ¿ Et quid opus est plura dicere ? Quando etiam Parthi, bellicosissimum genus, tantis prius populis imperantes, et tam magnis opibus circumdati, obsides tamen mittunt Romanis ; estque cernere, sub specie pacis servientem in Italia præcipuam Orientis nobilitatem. |
“Consider the bulwarks of the Britons, you who feel so sure of the walls of Jerusalem. They are surrounded by the Ocean and inhabit an island as big as the land which we inhabit; yet the Romans crossed the sea and enslaved them, and four legions keep watch over that huge island. But why should I say more about that, when even the Parthians, the most warlike race of all, previously the rulers of so many nations and surrounded by such vast resources, send hostages to Rome; and on Italian soil one can see the high aristocracy of the East serving as slaves under the guise of peace. |
| « ¿ Universis pæne, qui sub sole incolunt, Romanorum arma venerantibus, vos soli bellum geretis ? ¿ Neque Carthaginiensium considerabitis finem qui, magnum illum Hannibalem jactantes et ex nobili Phœnicum stirpe venientes, tamen sub Scipionis dextera corruerunt ? Sed neque Cyrenæi Lacedæmone oriundi, neque Marmaridarum genus usque ad inaquosas solitudines protentum, neque terribiles etiam audientibus Syrtes, Nasamones quoque et Mauri, et innumerabilis multitudo Numidarum virtutes impediere Romanas. Sed tertiam partem orbis terrarum, cujus ne numerare quidem nationes facile est, quæ scilicet sub Atlantico Mari et Columnis Herculis usque ad Rubrum Mare infinitos numero et locis Æthiopas continet, totam tamen ceperunt armis ; et præter fruges annuas quibus Romanam multitudinem octo mensibus pascunt, alia quoque vectigalia pendunt, expensas quoque devotissimi Imperio ministrant, nihil de his quæ jubentur, sicut vos, contumeliosum putantes. Et quidem una cum illis tantum legio commoratur. |
“Almost every nation under the sun bows down before the might of Rome; and will you alone go to war, not even considering the fate of the Carthaginians, who boasted of great Hannibal and their glorious Phœnician ancestors, but fell beneath Scipio’s hand? The Cyrenians (Spartans by descent), the Marmaridæ (a race that extends to the waterless desert), Syrtes, whose very mention terrifies, Nasamonians, Moors, Numidians with their vast numbers — none of them could resist Roman skill at arms. This third of the whole world, whose nations could hardly be counted, a territory stretching from the Atlantic Ocean and the Pillars of Hercules to the Red Sea and which contains an infinite number and places of Ethiopians, they militarily subdued in its entirety; and apart from the regular crops which for eight months of the year feed the whole population of Rome, these peoples also pay other taxes — plus, they most faithfully take care of the costs of empire; and unlike you they take no offense when given orders, though only a single legion is quartered in their midst. |
| « ¿ Sed quid opus est longe petitis exemplis potentiam explicare Romanam, quum eam possitis de vicina vobis Ægypto diligenter inspicere ? Hæc enim, quum usque ad Æthiopias porrigatur, opulentamque Arabiam, contigua quoque sit Indiæ, quinquaginta et septingentas myriadas incolarum habens, præter Alexandrinorum plebem, tamen vectigalia, quorum magnitudinem de censu singulorum capitum æstimari licet, devotissime penditans, Romanum non dedignatur imperium, et certe quam magnum stimulum defectionis habens, Alexandriam scilicet, multitudine et divitiis abundantem, magnitudine quoque non imparem. Habet siquidem in longitudine stadia triginta, in latitudine vero non minus quam decem, tributorum vero multo amplius per menses singulos infert, quam vos toto anno penditis ; et præter pecuniam, quattuor mensium Romanæ plebi annonam ministrat. Munitur autem undique aut incommeabili solitudine, aut importuoso mari, aut fluminibus, aut cænosis paludibus, quorum tamen omnium nihil Romana fortuna fortius fuit. Duæ enim legiones civitati insĭdentes, profundam Ægyptum cum illa Macedonum nobilitate frenant. |
“But why should we go so far for evidence of the Roman power when we can find it in Egypt, our neighbor? She stretches as far as Ethiopia and resource-rich Arabia; she is also the port for India; she has a population of seven and a half million (excluding the citizens of Alexandria), and nonetheless most faithfully pays taxes, whose quantity can be estimated from the census of individuals. But she does not repudiate the rule of Rome — yet what a stimulus to revolt she has in Alexandria abounding in population and wealth! A city three and a half miles long and over a mile wide, which pays Rome every month much more tribute than you pay in a whole year, and apart from money sends four months of grain to the Roman people, and which is protected on every side by impassable deserts or harborless seas or rivers or muddy swamps. Yet none of these things proved stronger than the fortune of Rome, and two legions stationed in the city curb the remotest parts of Egypt and its famous Macedonian nobility as well. |
| « ¿ Quos igitur in bella de solitudinibus aliquibus socios assumetis ? Siquidem omnes qui in orbe habitabili degunt, Romani sunt ; nisi forte quis vestrum spes suas ultra Euphratem porrigat, et Adiabenorum regionem gentiles suos æstimet adjutores. Porro nec illi propter irrationabilem causam tanto se bello implicabunt ; nec si tam probroso operi assensum darent, Parthus tamen sineret. Est quidem ei cura tuendæ cum Romanis amicitiæ, et arbitrabitur fœdus esse temeratum, si quis de his qui subjecti sunt ejus imperio, adversum Romanos in bello procedat. |
“Whom, I ask you, will you find in the uninhabited wilds to be your allies in this war? For in the inhabited world all are Romans — unless you extend your hopes beyond the Euphrates and imagine that your kinsmen from Adiabene will come to your aid! But they will not without good reason get involved in such a war, and if they did decide on anything so foolish, the Parthians would put a stop to it; for they are anxious to preserve their concord with the Romans, and will consider it a breach of the compact if any of their tributaries goes to war against the Romans. |
| « Superest igitur ad divinum confugiatur auxilium. Verum et hoc apud Romanos est. Sine Deo quippe impossibile esset imperium tale consistere. Considerate autem quemadmodum hæc ipsa erga ipsam religionem immoderatio, etiam si cum longe inferioribus bellum geratis, tamen ad dispensandum sit vobis difficillima, atque eadem transgrediendo offendatis Deum, per quæ eum auxiliaturum putatis. Si enim servetis sabbatorum consuetudinem, et ad nullum actum moveamini, facile profecto capiemini. Sic quippe etiam majores vestri experti sunt, hos maxime dies Pompejo ad bellum destinante in quibus scilicet hi qui oppugnabantur, otia gerebant. Transgredientes autem in bello Legem patriam, nescio propter quid in reliquum dimicetis. Una siquidem nunc vobis intentio est : ne quid de patria institutione solvatur. ¿ Quemadmodum autem advocabitis in adjutorium Deum, si cultum ei debitum sponte violetis ? |
“So there is no refuge left except to make God your ally. But He too is ranged on the Roman side, for without His help such an empire could never have emerged. Think about how extremely difficult that very disrespect toward religion itself would be for you to manage even if you were waging war against a far inferior people, and how you would offend God by transgressing the same things through which you think he would help you. If you observe the custom of the Sabbath with its complete cessation of activity, you will easily and promptly be crushed, as were your ancestors by Pompey, who was most active in pressing the siege specifically on the days when the besieged were passive. But if in the war you transgress your ancestral Law, I don’t see what you would be fighting for, since your one desire is that none of your ancestral customs should be broken. How will you be able to call the Deity to your aid if you deliberately deny Him the service that is due? |
| « Assumunt autem singuli quique bellum, vel divinæ virtuti vel humanis opibus confidentes. Quum vero utraque hæc, quantum ad ipsam pertinet consequentiam, deseruntur, in manifestam utique captivitatem volentes pugnare prosiliunt. ¿ Quid autem prohibet propriis manibus filios vestros conjugesque laniare, et hanc pulcherrimam inflammare patriam ? Erumpentes siquidem in furorem, lucrabimini vel ignominiam superatorum. Bonum est, o amici, bonum est, dum adhuc stat navis in portu, præcavere tempestatem futuram, et non eo tempore quo in medias irruetis procellas trepidare. His siquidem qui in improvisa mala inciderint, superest ut digni vel miseratione videantur ; qui vero se in apertum discrimen injecerint, etiam exprobrationibus onerentur. |
“Everyone who engages in war relies on either divine or human help; but when, as regards the consequences, both are denied, those who want to fight are jumping into obvious captivity. What prevents you from killing your wives and children with your own hands and from consigning your ancestral home, the most beautiful in the world, to the flames? By such madness you would at least avoid the shame of defeat! It is wise, my friends, it is wise, while the vessel is still in the harbor, to foresee the approaching storm, and not at that time frenziedly to sail out into the middle of the hurricane. For, indeed, those on whom disaster falls unexpectedly are at least entitled to pity, but those who plunge into obvious danger with eyes open earn only contempt. |
| « Nisi forte aliquis vestrum æstimet secundum pacta conflictum ire Romanos, aut postquam vicerint, moderate vobiscum acturos, et non in exemplum aliarum gentium sacram hanc urbem inflammaturos, interfecturos autem universum genus vestrum. Neque enim qui superfueritis armis, usquam locum fugæ habebitis, universis scilicet gentibus vel jam habentibus Romanos dominos, vel habere metuentibus. Periculum autem non solum vos manebit, sed etiam in reliquis civitatibus habitantes Judæos. Neque enim est in toto orbe populus in quo non vestra portio sit, quos certe omnes, vobis rebellantibus, cæde crudelissima diversi quique conficient, et propter paucorum virorum prava consilia universæ urbes Judaico sanguine redundabunt. Manet autem venia eos qui talia patraverint, quod sint nimirum vestro vitio coacti. Si vero eadem exsequi supersederint, considerate quam impium sit adversum tam benignos arma movisse. Subeat autem vos miseratio, etsi non filiorum vestrorum atque conjugum, saltem istius Civitatis quæ mater urbium vestræ regionis vocatur. Parcite mœnibus sacris, parcite venerabilibus adytis, Templumque vobis et Sancta Sanctorum servate. Neque enim ulterius victores Romani his abstinebunt, quibus primo parcentes, nullam receperunt gratiam. Ego testor quidem sancta vestra, sacrosque angelos Dei, patriamque communem, quod nihil eorum consiliorum quæ vobis viderim expedire subtraxerim. Vos autem decernentes quæ oportet, mecum in pace degetis ; si vero protuleritis iras, absque me periculis subdemini. » |
“Possibly some of you suppose that you are making war against the Romans in accordance with agreed rules, or that after they have won they will be kind to you, and will not think of making you an example to other nations by burning down your Holy City and destroying your entire race. I tell you, not even if you survive will you find a place of refuge anywhere, since every people recognizes the lordship of Rome or fears that it will have to do so. Again, the danger threatens not only you here but also Jews who live in other cities; for there is not a region in the world without its Jewish colony. All these, if you go to war, will be massacred by your opponents, and through the wrongheaded plans of a few men every city will run with Jewish blood. Those who do the killing will be excused, because they will doubtless have been forced to do it by your crimes; but if they refuse to perpetrate those very same things, think how wicked it would be to take up arms against such kindly people! Be compassionate, if not for your wives and children, at least for this City which is called the mother city of your territory. Spare the sacred walls, spare the august Sanctuaries, and save your Temple and its Holy of Holies. For the Romans will no longer keep their hands off when they have captured these, since for sparing them hithertoo they have received no thanks at all. I call to witness all you hold sacred, the holy angels of God, and the Fatherland we all share, that I have not kept back anything that is for your safety; if you make a right decision, you will share with me the blessings of peace; but if you are carried away by your passions, you will plunge without me to your doom.” |
| 5 |
| His dictis, astante etiam sorore, lacrimavit, et multam partem de eorum impetu lacrimis infregit. Succlamabant autem non se adversum Romanos, sed adversum Florum ob ea quæ pertulissent, bellum gerere. Ad quos rex Agrippa ; « Sed opera vestra », inquit, « talia sunt, qualia adversum Romanos pugnantium. Neque enim Cæsari vectigal dedistis, et Antonianas porticus incendistis. Sopietis autem causam defectionis si et porticus denuo construatis et tributa reddere maturetis. Neque enim Flori hoc præsidium est, aut pecuniam Floro dabitis. » |
At the end of his speech he burst into tears, as did his sister, and with his tears considerably dampened the ardor of his hearers. But they shouted that it was not Rome they were fighting, it was Florus — the man who had done them such wrong. To this King Agrippa replied, “But your actions are those of men fighting against the Romans; you have paid no tribute to Cæsar and you have burnt down the colonnades leading to Antonia. You can put the charges of insurrection to sleep by rebuilding the colonnades and hasten to pay the tax; for, you know, Florus doesn’t own the fortress, and you will not be giving the money to Florus.” |
|
| ⇑ § XVII |
Quomodo Judæi bellum
adversus Romanos susceperint.
Deque Manahemo. | How the war of the Jews with the Romans began, and concerning Manahem. |
| 1 |
| His consultis populus acquievit, et cum rege ac Bernice ascendentes in Templum, porticus ædificare adorti sunt. Per vicos autem et regiones principes quique decurionesque dispersi, vectigal colligebant ; celeriterque quadraginta talenta (tantum enim erat reliquum) redacta sunt. Et belli quidem imminentes minas eo tunc more Agrippa compescuit. Deinceps vero persuadere populo temptabat ut parerent Floro donec successor ei a Cæsare mitteretur. Ad quam orationem multitudo accensa, nec a verborum in regem contumeliis temperavit, sed protinus eum Urbe pepulerunt ; ausique sunt nonnulli seditiosorum etiam saxa in eum jacere. Rex autem, videns tumultuantium irrevocabilem impetum, et conquerendo quod contumeliis esset affectus, principes quidem eorum una cum aliis potentibus misit ad Florum Cæsaream, ut ipse ex eis eligeret, qui de tota regione vectigal exigerent. Ipse vero discessit in regnum. |
Accepting this advice, the people with the king and Berenice went up into the Temple and began to rebuild the colonnades, while all the magistrates and councillors went to the various villages and collected the tribute, quickly getting together the forty talents due. In this way Agrippa delayed for the moment the threatened war; but when he tried further to persuade the mob to obey Florus until Cæsar sent a successor to replace him, they were furious and abused the king and immediately drove him from the City. Some of the insurgents even dared to throw stones at him. The king saw that the passions of the rioters could no longer be controlled and, loudly complaining about the insults he had received, he sent their magistrates and influential citizens to Florus at Cæsarea, to get him to choose some of them to collect the tribute from the countryside. Then he retired to his own kingdom. |
| 2 |
— Caput B-17 —
De cœpta rebellione Judæorum contra Romanos. |
| Per idem tempus quidam eorum qui bellum maxime movebant, congregati irruebant in quoddam præsidium quod vocabatur Massada ; et occulte eo pervaso, Romanos omnes interfecerunt, alios autem de suis posuerunt custodes. In Templo quoque Hierosolymorum Eleazarus quidam, filius Ananiæ pontificis, juvenis audacissimus, dux illo tempore militum, persuasit his qui sacrificiis ministrabant, ut nullius munus aut hostia, qui non esset de Judæorum gente, susciperetur. Id autem erat Romani belli seminarium atque materia. Rejecit siquidem hostias Cæsaris quæ pro Romano populo offerri solitæ erant. Plurimum autem super hoc pontificibus aliisque nobilibus deprecatis ut non præterirent eum morem quo supplicabatur pro regibus, nihil tamen acquieverunt, non parum quidem et suæ multitudini confidentes. Robur siquidem omne res novare cupientium, eorum voluntates juvabat ; maxime autem aspiciebant Eleazarum, qui per idem tempus, ut dixi, princeps erat. |
Meanwhile some of those most anxious for war made a united attack on a fort called Masada, captured it by stealth, and exterminated the Roman garrison, putting one of their own in its place. Also, in the Temple courts Eleazar, son of Ananias the pontiff and a very bold young man who was Temple Captain, persuaded the celebrants of the sacrifices to accept no gift or offering from anyone who was not a Jew. That was the seedbed and kindling for the Roman war; for they rejected the victims customarily offered by Cæsar for the Roman people. And in spite of the earnest appeals of the chief priests and prominent citizens not to eliminate the customary offerings for the authorities, they would not acquiesce. Their numbers made them supremely confident; for the solid force of the revolutionaries backed their wishes, but chiefly they pinned their faith on Eleazar, the Temple Captain of the time, as mentioned. |
| 3 |
| Convenientes igitur potentes quique cum pontificibus et Pharisæorum nobilissimis, et videntes quam gravibus malis pergerent subjicere Civitatem, decreverunt seditiosorum animos experiri ; et ante portam quæ « Ærea » vocatur, contionem advocantes (erat autem in interiore parte Templi posita, quæ respicit ad solis exortum) ac primo quidem multa de temeraria eorum defectione conquesti, et quod tam grave bellum patriæ commoverent, deinceps irrationabilitatem causæ ipsius arguebant, dicentes, majores quidem eorum ornasse Templum ex magna parte de muneribus gentium, semperque eorum qui foris essent populorum munera suscepisse ; et non solum non prohibuisse aliquorum hostias (id siquidem esse impiissimum), sed etiam eas quæ viserentur permanerentque ad præsens usque tempus, oblationes eorum in Templi cultibus collocasse. At nunc eos qui Romana arma irritarent, et desponderent eorum bella, novum statuere morem religionis, atque cum periculis etiam ream facere Civitatem impietatis videri, siquidem ea sit, in qua præter solos Judæos, nullus alius immolet externus, neque ad orandum sinantur accedere. Et si quidem circa unius alicujus privati personam lex ferretur ejusmodi, posset nimirum jure nos inhumanitatis arguere ; nunc autem despiciuntur Romani, et judicatur Cæsar profanus. Unde verendum esse, ne qui immolandas pro illis hostias repellunt, ipsi in reliquum etiam pro se sacrificia prohibeantur offerre, fiatque vere extra principatum Civitas, nisi celerius resipiscentes reddiderint hostias, ac priusquam ad eos in quorum contumeliam id temptatum est, hujus ausūs perveniat fama. |
The prospect of irreparable disaster brought together the leading citizens, the chief priests and the most prominent Pharisees to discuss the crisis. They decided to try an appeal to the insurgents and summoned a public meeting in front of the Bronze Gate, the eastern entrance to the inner courts of the Temple. They began by vehemently denouncing the folly of a revolt which could involve their country in total war, and went on to attack the irrationality of their pretexts. Their ancestors had adorned the Sanctuary at foreign expense for the most part, always accepting a gentile gift and, so far from debarring any man from sacrifice (a most irreligious thing to do), had set up their votive offerings which could be seen and remain up to the present time in the Temple cultic area. And now these same men who were goading the Romans to fight and challenging them to war, were seen to be instituting a new religious custom and courting disaster by even making the City guilty of sacrilege, if among the Jews alone no foreigner might sacrifice or worship. If this law were brought in to debar a single individual, he would unquestionably and justly accuse us of inhumanity; but now the Romans are held in contempt and Cæsar is adjudged profane! Hence one must fear that those who are barring sacrifices for them will in the future themselves be prohibited from offering sacrifices even for themselves, and that the City will be outlawed from the Empire — unless they quickly recover their common sense, restore the sacrifices, and wipe out the insult before it was reported to those they had insulted. |
| 4 |
| Simul autem ista dicentes, producebant in medium scientissimos morum paternorum, sacerdotes quoque, narraturos quomodo omnes eorum majores exterarum gentium semper sacrificia suscepissent. Attendebat autem nemo res novare cupientium his quæ dicebantur, sed neque procedebant in medium altaris ministri ut belli materiam præparantes. Videntes igitur nobiles quique seditionem eo jam processisse ut eorum non posset auctoritate compesci, et Romanorum armorum periculum se primos esse sensuros, in quantum poterant consulentes, amoliri causas parabant. Et legatos quidem alios ad Florum miserunt, quorum erat princeps filius Ananiæ Simon, alios autem ad Agrippam, inter quos nobilissimi Saulus, et Antipas, et Costobarus erant, qui etiam regem propinquitate tangebant. Precabantur autem utrumque, ut cum exercitu ascenderent in Civitatem, et seditionem opprimerent, priusquam ea intolerabilis fieret. Et Floro quidem malum istud quasi bonus nuntius fuit, volensque inflammare bellum nihil respondit legatis. Agrippa autem pariter utrisque parcens, scilicet deficientibus, et iis adversum quos bellum movebatur, volensque et Romanis conservare Judæos, et Judæis Templum atque patriam, ad hæc autem nec sibi conducere talem conturbationem sciens, misit in auxilium populo equites ter mille, Auranitas scilicet, et Batanæos, et Trachonitas, sub præfecto equitum Dario, duce vero Philippo, Jachimi filio. |
While they pleaded thus they brought forward priests with expert knowledge of the traditions, who testified that all their ancestors had accepted offerings from aliens. But none of the revolutionaries would listen; and not even the altar celebrants came forward — the ones laying the foundations for war. So, seeing that the insurrection was now beyond their control and that the vengeance of Rome would fall upon them first, the advisers tried, insofar as they could, to remove the blame from themselves and sent delegations to Florus and Agrippa, the former led by Simon, son of Ananias, the other distinguished by the inclusion of Saul, Antipas and Costobar, kinsmen of the king. They begged both to come up to the City with an army and suppress the insurrection before it got out of control. Florus, as though that disaster were good news, and wanting to ignite a war, gave no answer to the delegates. But Agrippa, trying to save both sides — the rebels and their opponents —, wanting to preserve the Jews for the Romans, and the Temple and capital for the Jews, and aware that such an upheaval would not be good for himself, sent to the help of the people 3,000 horsemen from Auranitis, Batanæa and Trachonitis under Darius, the cavalry commander, and the general Philip, son of Jacimus. |
| 5 |
| His ergo venientibus, optimates quique cum pontificibus et omni multitudine quæ optabat quietem, superiorem occupant civitatem ; inferiorem siquidem et Templum, seditiosorum manus tenebat. Missilibus igitur et fundis indesinenter utebantur, et continua erat emissio sagittarum ex utraque scilicet parte ; erat autem quando ex insidiis procurrentes comminus dimicabant. Præstabant autem audacia quidem seditiosi, belli vero scientia regii. Et his quidem erat propositum maxime Templum obtinere, profanatoresque ejus expellere ; seditiosis vero qui cum Eleazaro agebant, ut præter ea quæ obtinebant, etiam superiorem invaderent Urbem. Per septem igitur dies gravis utriusque partis cædes fiebat, et neutri de eo loco quem tenuerant depellebantur. |
Thus encouraged, all the leading citizens, the chief priests and all the peace-loving section of the populace occupied the Upper City, the Lower City with the Temple being in the hands of the insurgents. There followed an all-day exchange of stones from hand and sling, a continuous stream of arrows from both quarters. Sometimes they even sallied forth from ambush and fought hand to hand, the insurgents showing the greater courage, the king’s troops the greater military skill. The latter fought chiefly to get possession of the Temple and to drive out those who were profaning it, Eleazar and the insurgents, besides holding what they had, to capture the Upper City in addition. The result was seven days of mutual slaughter, without either side being dislodged from its original position. |
| 6 |
| Deinceps vero, adveniente ea festivitate quæ Xylophoria dicitur, in qua mos est omnibus grandem lignorum materiam convehere ad Templum, quatenus nunquam ignis deficiat esca (semper enim inexstinguibilis perseverat) adversarios quidem a cultu religionis excluserunt. Inter infirmiorem autem vulgum irrumpentes multi sicariorum (sic enim vocant latrones, gladios in sinibus gerentes) recepti audacissime prosequebantur opus quod adorti erant. Regii autem audacia et multitudine vincebantur. Ita superiore Civitate cesserunt, quum isti protinus irruentes, Ananiæ pontificis domum, et Agrippæ ac Berenices palatium inflammaverunt ; post quod ignem Archivo intulerunt, volentes omnia creditorum documenta disperdere, ne esset unde ratio creditæ pecuniæ pateret, utque omnem sibi debitorum adjungerent multitudinem, et adversum locupletes egenis præberent insurgendi facultatem liberam. Fugientibus vero chartarum publicarum custodibus, ignem ædibus injecerunt ; atque ita incensis Civitatis nervis, in hostes irruebant. Quo loco pontificum atque nobilium quidam in cloacis latuerunt, quidam cum regiis in superiorem regiam confugerunt, portas celeriter obserantes. Inter quos Ananias pontifex et Eleazarus, frater ejus, erant, et illi quos apud Agrippam functos legatione diximus. Tunc ergo, victoria et inflammatione contenti, cessaverunt. |
But following that, with the arrival of the Feast of Wood-carrying, on which the custom was that everyone should bring wood for the altar so that there should never be a lack of fuel for the fire (which is always kept alight), they excluded their opponents from this ceremony; but in the crowd of the weaker people pouring in, there were many of the Sicarii — criminals who took their name from a dagger carried under their clothing — who were accepted and boldly joined in the effort already begun. The king’s troops were inferior now in numbers and audacity, and were driven out of the Upper City. Their opponents thereupon rushed in and burnt down the house of Ananias the pontiff and the palace of Agrippa and Berenice; then they set fire to the Record Office, eager to destroy the money-lenders’ records so there would be no source from which to produce an account of debt, and so the entire mass of debtors would come over to their side and they could give the poor the impunity to rise against the rich. Thus when keepers of the records fled, the building was set on fire. And with the nerve-center of the City in flames, the insurgents went after their foes. Some of the leading citizens and chief priests hid in the sewers and disappeared from view, others with the king’s troops fled to the Upper Palace and lost no time in bolting the doors. Among these were Ananias the pontiff, his brother Hezekiah, and those who, as we said, had gone as delegates to Agrippa. So for the moment, satisfied with their victory and with the destruction they had wrought, they called off the pursuit. |
| 7 |
| Postridie autem, quintadecima scilicet die Augusti mensis, fecerunt impetum in Antoniam ; et omnes in eo præsidio agentes, per biduum obsessos, ceperunt atque interfecerunt, præsidiumque incenderunt. Postea vero transierunt in regiam ad quam confugere Agrippæ milites et, in quattuor partes agmen suum dividentes, muros evertere moliebantur. Eorum vero qui intus erant, erumpere nullus audebat, propter multitudinem oppugnantium sed, distributi per propugnacula et turres, subeuntes interficiebant, ac frequentes omnino latrones sub muris cadebant. Nec die autem conflictus nec nocte cessabat, seditiosis videlicet existimantibus in desperationem cogi eos qui in præsidio erant propter inopiam vīctus, regiis vero credentibus oppugnatores suos cessuros labori. |
The next day, however, the 15th of August, they assaulted Antonia and, after a two-day siege, captured and killed the entire garrison and set fire to the fortress. Then they went off to the Palace where the king’s men had taken refuge and, breaking up into four sections, began to assail the walls. None of the defenders dared attempt a sortie in face of the swarm of attackers; but, spread out among the breastworks and towers, they killed those coming up, and many of the bandits fell at the foot of the walls. Night and day the struggle continued without a break, the insurgents hoping to drive the defenders to desperation due to lack of food, the king’s men believing the besiegers would give up due to exhaustion. |
| 8 |
| Interea Manahemus quidam, filius Judæ Galilæi, callidissimi illius sophistæ qui quondam sub Cyrenio exprobraverat Judæis, quod post Deum subjicerentur Romanis, assumptis quibusdam nobilium, perrexit in Massadam, ubi armamentarium Herodis regis erat. Eoque perrupto, populares aliosque latrones diligenter armavit. Hisque utens stipatoribus, veluti rex Hierosolymam revertitur ; factusque princeps seditionis, oppugnationem disponebat. Machinarum autem inopia erat, nec poterat palam suffodere muros, superne hostibus tela jacientibus. Cuniculum igitur longe coeptum sub unam turrim agentes, suspenderunt eam materie subjecta ; ac postea in sustinentia ligna igne immisso egressi sunt. Sicque subicibus exustis, turris quidem extemplo emota est. Alter autem murus intus ædificatus apparuit. Regii quippe molitiones eorum præsentientes, forte etiam de concussione turris, alium sibi murum celerius ædificaverunt. Inter hæc autem hi quidem qui oppugnabant, et statim se victores credebant, quum vidissent alium murum, stupore defecti sunt ; regii tamen ad Manahemum aliosque seditionis principes mittebant, precantes, ut eis discedere liceret. Quod quum solis regiis ejusque religionis reliquis Manahemus annuisset, protinus dicesserunt. Romanos autem qui soli relicti erant, grandis animi occupavit defectus. Neque enim vi contra tantam multitudinem pares erant ; et precari ut exire liceret, ignominiam judicabant ; quanquam et si permitteretur, nequaquam tutum putabant. Derelinquentes igitur inferiorem locum, qui Stratopedon vocabatur, quippe quasi capi facilem, in turres regias confugerunt ; quarum una appellabatur Hippicos, alia Phasaëlus, tertia Mariamme. Hi vero qui cum Manahemo erant, protinus irruentes in ea loca e quibus milites fugerant, si quos eorum comprehenderent trucidantes, omnem reliquum apparatum diripientes, Stratopedum incenderunt. Hæc igitur acta sunt sexto die mensis Septembris. |
Meanwhile one Menahem, son of Judas the Galilæan {(founder of the Zealots)}, that very clever rabbi who in the time of Quirinius had once reproached the Jews for submitting to the Romans after serving God alone, took his friends with him and went off to Masada, the location of King Herod’s armory. He broke into it and assiduously distributed weapons to his fellow-townsmen and other bandits as well. With these as bodyguard he returned like a king to Jerusalem, put himself at the head of the insurgents, and took charge of the siege. But they lacked engines, and to undermine the wall under the enemy’s eyes was impossible with the enemy throwing missiles from above. So, starting at a distance, they dug a tunnel to under one of the towers and held it up by placing wood beneath it; they then set the wood props on fire and withdrew. When the supports were burnt through, the tower suddenly moved away, only to reveal another wall built inside; for the defenders had detected the operations ahead of time — perchance from the shaking of the tower as well — and had quickly furnished themselves with a second barrier. When they saw this, the assailants, who had felt sure that victory was theirs already, were stupefied. However, the king’s soldiers sent to Menahem and the other leaders of the insurrection, requesting safe conduct to leave. This was granted only to the king’s troops and others of his religion, who then came right out. Left alone, the Romans became greatly depressed; they were not a match for such a multitude and regarded it as shameful to beg permission to leave — besides, they thought, even if they were permitted, there would be no way it would be safe. So they evacuated the lower position called the Army Camp as easily captured and fled to the King’s Towers, called Hippicus, Phasaël and Mariamme. Menahem and his men immediately charged into the position thus deserted, killed anyone they caught, looted all the remaining baggage, and set fire to the Army Camp. This happened on the 6th of September. |
| 9 |
— Caput B-18 —
De cæde Ananiæ Pontificis, Manahemi, et militum Romanorum. |
| Sequenti autem die pontifex Ananias circa Euripos regiæ domus latens capitur, et a latronibus interficitur cum Ezechia fratre. Circumsidentes autem etiam turres seditiosi, custodiebant ne quis militum posset effugere. Manahemum autem et munitorum locorum destructio et pontificis Ananiæ mors in crudelitatem erexit ; et neminem parem sibi in negotiis arbitrans, intolerabilis erat tyrannus. Insurrexerunt autem duo de sociis Eleazari. Et mutuo collocuti quod non decet a Romanis desiderio libertatis deficientes eandem populari suo prodere dominumque ferre, etsi non violentum, tamen seipsis humiliorem. Nam si oporteat cunctis aliquem præesse, quemvis magis alium quam illum decere. Atque ita pacti, adoriuntur eum in Templo. Magno enim fastu adoraturus accesserat, regali habitu indutus, et studiosos sui in armis habebat. Quum igitur hi qui circa Eleazarum erant in illum prosiluissent, reliquus quoque populus rapiens saxa lapidavit sophistam, existimantes quod, illo interempto, tota seditio solveretur. Paululum autem stipatores Manahemi resistentes, postquam viderunt totam adversum se multitudinem irruere, quisque quo potuit diffugit. Et cædes quidem erat eorum qui comprehensi sunt, perscrutatio autem latentium sequebatur ; paucique ex eis clam in Massadam perfugerunt — cum quibus et Eleazarus filius Jairi, propinquus genere Manahemo, qui postea etiam in Massada tyrannidem egit. Ipsum autem Manahemum quum fugisset in locum qui Ophlas vocatur, atque illic humiliter delitesceret, capientes extraxerunt in publicum, multisque tormentis excruciatum interfecerunt ; similiter autem sub eo agentes principes, præcipuumque tyrannidis ejus adjutorem, Absalomon nomine. |
On the next day the pontiff Ananias was caught hiding near the Palace moat and murdered by the gangsters along with his brother Hezekiah. The insurgents also surrounded the towers and kept watch so that no soldier could escape. But the overthrow of walled positions and the pontiff’s death boosted Manahem into savagery and, thinking he had no rival in the conduct of affairs, he became unbearably tyrannical. Two of Eleazar’s associates rose against him, agreeing that it was absurd to revolt from Rome for love of liberty and then hand over that liberty to one of their own compatriots and submit to a master who, even if not violent, was certainly inferior to themselves. If they must put everything in one man’s hands, anyone would be preferable to this fellow! So they formed their plans and attacked him in the Temple as with great haughtiness he was entering to worship, decked out in kingly robes, and attended by his armed devotees. Eleazar and his men rushed at him while the rest of the people seized stones and began to pelt the rabbi, thinking that his overthrow would put a final end to the revolt. After Menahem’s bodyguards had resisted for a short while, when they saw the whole populace rushing toward them, they fled in all directions. Those who were caught were massacred, those who hid were ferreted out. A few of them escaped by secretly slipping away to Masada, among them Eleazar, son of Jairus, who was related to Menahem and later became tyrant of Masada. Menahem himself fled to the place called “Ophel” and, while hiding ignominiously there, was captured, dragged into the open and put to death by prolonged torture. A like fate befell his lieutenants, including the chief instrument of his domination, the man named Absalom. |
| 10 |
| Et populus quidem, sicut dixi, in his adjutor fuit, suspicans aliquam totius seditionis correctionem futuram. Hi vero non ut comprimerent bellum, sed ut cum majori licentia gererent, interfecerunt Manahemum. Denique, quum populus multum precaretur ut oppugnationem militum relaxarent, vehementius insistebant donec ulterius resistere non valentes, Metilius Romanorum præfectus et reliqui mittunt ad Eleazarum, precantes ut solam eorum pacisceretur vitam ; arma autem et reliqua quæ haberent, ipsis tradentibus sumeret. Qui precationem ilico arripientes, remittunt ad eos Gorionem Nicodemi filium, et Ananiam Sadducæum, et Judam Jonathæ, scilicet eis dextras et sacramentum daturos. Quibus actis, deducebat milites Metilius ; sed quamdiu Romani arma retinebant, nemo adversus eos seditiosorum fraudis aliquid molitus est. Postea vero quam secundum pactiones omnes scuta gladiosque posuerunt, neque quicquam ulterius suspicantes discedebant, facto in eos impetu stipatores Eleazari, comprehensos trucidabant neque resistentes, neque supplicantes, solas autem pactiones et juramenta quæ dederant inclamantes. Et hi quidem ita crudeliter interfecti sunt, præter Metilium. Hunc enim deprecantem, et usque ad circumcisionem Judaizare se promittentem, servaverunt solum. Detrimentum autem Romanis quidem erat leve ; ex copiis siquidem amplissimis pauci fuerunt interempti ; Judæorum autem captivitatis illud exordium videbatur. Videntes autem graves jam instare causas bellorum, Urbem autem tali facinore fuisse respersam ex quo nimirum divina indignatio imminebat, etiamsi a Romanis nulla ultio timeretur, lugebant publice, et tristitia Civitas premebatur. Moderati autem quique, quasi pro seditiosis causas reddituri, turbabantur. Siquidem sabbato illam cædem contigerat perpetrari, quo scilicet die propter religionem a sanctis quoque operibus agunt quietem. |
The people, as I said, was an assistant in this, thinking it would make some improvement in the whole insurrection; but the conspirators killed Manahem not to stop the war, but so that they could act with greater license. In fact, the more the people urged them to abandon the siege of the soldiers, the more vigorously they pressed it until, unable to hold out any longer, Metilius, the Roman commander, sent officers to Eleazar to ask only that their lives should be guaranteed, as they were ready to surrender their arms and all their possessions. The besiegers jumped at the proposal on the spot and sent Gorion, son of Nicomedes, Ananias, son of Zadok, and Judas, son of Jonathan to them to promise them safety on oath. On this, Metilius marched the soldiers down. As long as they were armed, none of the insurgents tried anything treacherous against them; but when as agreed they laid down their shields and swords, and without a suspicion in their minds were marching away, Eleazar’s bodyguards rushed at them, surrounded them and cut them down, while they neither resisted nor begged for mercy, but merely appealed loudly to the agreement and the oaths. Thus they were all brutally murdered except Metilius, who begged for mercy and by promising to turn Jew and even be circumcised managed to save himself alone. This setback was a slight one for the Romans; for out of their enormous forces only a few were killed. But for the Jews it seems that was the beginning of their downfall. They saw that the somber onset of war now loomed, and that the City was polluted with such guilt that divine retribution was unquestionably impending, even if no revenge were to be feared from the Romans. So there was universal lamentation, and the City was depressed with sadness, every decent citizen in turmoil at the prospect of paying for the misdeeds of the insurgents. For it so happened that it was on a Sabbath when the massacre was perpetrated, a day on which for religious reasons they abstain in quiescence even from holy works. |
|
| ⇑ § XVIII |
Judæorum ubique gentium
calamitates et cædes. | The calamities and slaughters that came upon the Jews. |
| 1 |
— Caput B-19 —
De Judæorum maxima strage Cæsareæ et in omni Syria. |
| Eodem autem die, eademque hora, quasi aliqua cælesti providentia, Cæsarienses quoque Judæos apud se habitantes trucidaverunt ; ita ut uno tempore super viginti milia hominum cæderentur, et cunctis Judæis vacuata Cæsarea remaneret. Nam et eos qui effugerant comprehendens Florus, vinctos in arenam deduxit. Post Cæsariensem vero cladem tota gens efferata est. Divisique Judæi, Syrorum vicos ac finitimas civitates protinus vastaverunt — id est, Philadelphiam, et Gebonitin, et Gerasam, et Pellam, et Scythopolim. Deinceps vero irruerunt et in Gadaram et Hippon et Gaulanitidem ; et alia quidem surruentes loca, alia vero inflammantes, etiam in Cedasam Tyriorum et Ptolemaidem, Gabam quoque, Cæsareamque tendebant. Obstitit autem eorum incursui neque Sebaste neque Ascalon ; sed his quoque flamma vastatis Anthedona et Gazam everterunt. Multa autem circa fines harum civitatum diripiebantur, vici scilicet et agri, eorumque qui capiebantur virorum immensa cædes fiebat. |
On the same day and at the same hour, as if divinely ordained, the people of Cæsarea also massacred the Jewish colony, so that simultaneously more than 20,000 were slaughtered and Cæsarea was left empty of all Jews; for those who might have escaped were seized by Florus and sent in chains to the sands {(i.e., of the shipyards)}. This blow made the whole nation wild with anger, and parties sacked the Syrian villages and the neighboring cities, Philadelphia, Gebonis, Gerasa, Pella and Scythopolis. Next they swooped on Gadara, Hippus and Gaulanitis, destroying some places and firing others. Then on to Kedasa near Tyre, Ptolemais, Gaba and Cæsarea. There was no resistance to their onslaughts in either Sebaste or Ascalon, both of which they burnt to the ground, going on to demolish Anthedon and Gaza. Around each of these cities a number of villages were looted, and the adult male captives unrestrictedly slaughtered. |
| 2 |
| Neque tamen Syri minorem numero multitudinem de Judæorum gente vastabant, sed etiam eos qui in civitatibus erant comprehensos disperdebant, non solum ob vetus odium, sed ut discrimen imminens prævenirent. Gravis ergo conturbatio totam Syriam pervaserat, et omnis civitas in binos dividebatur exercitus, unaque alterutris salus erat, si prævenissent alteros cæde facienda ; et dies quidem ducebantur in sanguine, noctes autem molestiores formido faciebat. Nam licet viderentur amoliri Judæos, tamen etiam aliarum gentium Judaizantes cogebantur habere suspectos ; et ob hoc ipsum quod in eis videbatur ambiguum, neque temere eos placebat interfici, et rursus ob ipsam religionis commixtionem quasi penitus externos timebant. Provocabat autem ad cædes adversæ partis etiam illos qui prius fuerant mansueti, avaritia. Siquidem substantias cæsorum passim diripiebant, et quasi victores eorum prædam quos trucidaverant, in domos alias transferebant. Gloriosior autem erat qui plura collegisset, quasi scilicet plures virtute superasset. Erat autem cernere civitates plenas cadaveribus insepultis, et inhumatos passim jacere cum parvulis senes, feminas autem neque pudenda contectas. Et omnis quidem provincia plena erat inenarrabilium calamitatum. Majorum autem metus quam quæ peracta erant, facinorum imminebat. |
The Syrians on their side killed just as many Jews; they too slaughtered those they caught in the cities, not only through hatred as before, but now to avert their own peril. The whole of Syria was filled with hopeless confusion, and every city was divided into two camps; the one and only safety for the ones was if they could forestall the others in wreaking slaughter. The days were spent in bloodshed, the nights — still more terrible — in fear. For though they thought they were rid of the Jews, they were forced to be suspicious of Jewish sympathizers, and while for that very thing they hesitated blindly to exterminate the doubtful element in their midst, they feared these people of mixed religion as much as complete foreigners. To the slaughter of their opponents even those who had always been deemed the most harmless of men were tempted by avarice; for they plundered the property of the slain everywhere, and as if from a battlefield carried off the spoils of those they had killed to other homes, special honor being paid to the man who grasped the most, as if he had overcome several foes by his valor. The cities could be seen full of unburied corpses, the dead bodies of the aged flung down everywhere alongside those of infants, women without even their pudenda covered, and the whole province full of indescribable horrors. The fear of even greater crimes than those already committed loomed over them. |
| 3 |
| Et hactenus quidem Judæis adversum alienigenas conflictus erat. Incurrentes autem in Scythopoleos fines, etiam Judæos qui illic habitabant experti sunt hostes. Hi enim cum Scythopolitis conspirantes, et consanguinitatem utilitati propriæ postponentes, adversum Judæos cum gentilibus dimicabant. Suspecta tamen eorum ipsa belli fuit aviditas. Denique Scythopolitæ, veriti ne civitatem noctu adirent, et magna sua calamitate civibus excusarent defectionem, edixerunt eis ut si vellent inter eos firmare consensum et circa alienigenas ostendere fidem, transirent cum omnibus filiis suis in lucum. Quibus quæ fuerant jussa sine suspicionem facientibus, diebus quidem secutis duobus quieverunt Scythopolitæ. Tertia vero nocte exploratores, alios incautos, alios vero dormientes invadunt, subitoque omnes interfecerunt, qui fuerunt numero tredecim milia, postque eorum bona diripuerunt. |
So far the Jews had been attacking foreigners, but when they raided Scythopolis they found the Jews living there opposed to them; for they lined up with the Scythopolitans and, treating their own safety as of more importance than the ties of blood, they joined battle with their countrymen. But this very zeal of theirs for war was suspicious — in the end, the Scythopolitans feared that these men would attack the city at nighttime and, through a huge calamity to the Scythopolitans excuse their own defection. So they ordered them, if they wished to prove their loyalty and demonstrate their fidelity to their foreign neighbors, to go with their families to the Grove. The Jews carried out the order, suspecting nothing, and for two days the Scythopolitans made no move; but on the third night their scouts invaded and suddenly killed everyone — some as they were off their guard and others asleep — more than 13,000 of them, and afterwards looted their property. |
| 4 |
| Dignum autem etiam videtur, Simonis interitum enarrare. Hic enim Sauli cujusdam non ignobilis viri filius erat, fortitudine quoque corporis et audacia animi insignissimus ; quibus utrisque ad incommoda suæ gentis abusus est. Multos siquidem Judæorum propinquos Scythopoli quotidie obtruncabat, et frequenter integros cuneos fudit, ita ut totius aciei momentum solus exsisteret. Comprehendit autem eum digna civili cæde pœna. Nam quum Scythopolitæ circumfusi Judæis, passim per lucum eos jaculis configerent, educto Simon gladio, in nullum quidem hostium impetum fecit. Nihil enim se in tanta multitudine promoturum videbat. Exclamans autem miserabiliter, « Digna », inquit, « Scythopolitæ, his quæ gessi patior ; quippe, qui tam multa cæde civium meorum, benignitati erga vos nostræ fidem feci. Digne enim nobis extera gens infida est, qui in nostrum genus tanta impietate deliquimus. Morior ego quasi profanus propriis manibus ; neque enim decet hostili manu cadere. Iste autem ipse finis mihi, et sceleris digna pœna, et idoneum virtutis decus erit, ut nemo scilicet hostium de meo interitu glorietur, neque insultet cadenti. » Hæc dicens, miserantibus simul ac furentibus oculis circumspicit omnem familiam suam. Erat autem ei uxor et filii, et provecti in senectutem parentes. Ille igitur primum quidem patrem a cæsarie comprehendens, et super eum stans ense penetravit ; post quem non sane invitam matrem suam interfecit. Super hos autem conjugi et filiis intulit ferrum, singulis sane horum pæne occurrentibus gladio, et hostes prævenire cupientibus. Quum vero omnem suam necessitudinem trucidasset, cæsis superstans extulit dexteram, ut neminem posset latere, et totum in viscera sua ensem demersit. Dignus quidem miseratione juvenis propter robur corporis atque animi firmitatem, ceterum quantum ad fidem, quam alienigenis præstitit, digno fine consumptus. |
It seems worthwhile to give an account of the fate of Simon, son of a not undistinguished father, Saul. His bodily strength and personal courage were exceptional, but to the injury of his countrymen he abused both. At Scythopolis every day he killed many of his Jewish kin; often he routed whole detachments, emerging alone as the main force of the whole battlefront. But he was overtaken by the punishment he had earned through the slaughter of his compatriots. For when the men of Scythopolis surrounded the Jews and were shooting down the men everywhere in the Grove, Simon drew his sword but made no move toward the enemy, as he saw he would achieve nothing, given their overwhelming numbers. Instead, he cried out in agony, “It serves me right for what I have done, Scythopolitans — I who have murdered so many of my own people to prove our loyalty to you. Foreigners are rightly treacherous to us who have abandoned our own nation with such ingratitude; I am dying as a godless man by my own hands; I am not fit to die by those of the enemy. The same act will be both my end and the punishment of my foul deeds, as well as a suitable proof of my courage, so that none of my foes may boast of my death or gloat over my body.” So saying, he glanced around with a look of mingled pity and rage at his own family — wife, children and aged parents. Then, first seizing his father by his grey hairs, he ran him through with his sword; next he killed his unresisting mother, and finally his wife and children, each of them almost falling on his sword, so eager were they to forestall the enemy. Then Simon, having slaughtered all his family, stood over the bodies in view of everyone and, raising his right hand aloft for all to see, plunged the whole length of the blade into his own throat. He was a youth certainly worthy of pity in view of his prowess and courage; but as regards the loyalty he gave to outsiders, he died a deserved death. |
| 5 |
— Caput B-20 —
De Judæorum alia gravi interfectione. |
| Ad cædem autem quæ in Scythopoli facta est, reliquæ quoque urbes in Judæos apud se habitantes irruebant ; et duo milia quingentos Ascalonitæ, Ptolemæis autem duo milia interfecit. Vinxerunt quoque non paucos Tyrii, multosque trucidaverunt ; plures autem eorum vinctos custodiis tradidere. Hippeni quoque et Gadarenses similiter audacissimos quidem amoliebantur, terribiles autem solicite asservabant. Reliquæ quoque urbes adversum Judæos singulæ, prout habebant, vel timore vel odio movebantur. Soli autem Antiocheni, et Sidonii, et Apameni, suis cohabitatoribus pepercerunt, et neque interfecere quempiam Judæorum, neque vinculis tradiderunt. Forte autem et propter multitudinem suam despexerunt eorum si qui motus fuissent. Mihi autem videntur magis erga eos miseratione moti, quos utique nihil moliri videbant. Geraseni autem neque in eos qui apud se remanere delegerunt, quicquam gesserunt mali, et egredi volentes usque ad fines suos deduxerunt. |
Following the butchery at Scythopolis, the other cities also attacked the Jews living among them. In Ascalon 2,500 were put to death, in Ptolemais 2,000. The Tyrians shackled large numbers and slaughtered many; they threw the majority of those in chains into prison. The citizens of Hippus and Gadara similarly liquidated the bolder spirits and the held the timid {(lit.: terrible [φοβεροὺς], i.e., terrified)} in careful custody. And likewise the other cities of Syria were also convulsed according to the hate or fear with which each contained or regarded Jews. Only in Antioch, Sidon and Apamea were their fellow townsmen spared, and they neither killed nor imprisoned any of the Jews. Perhaps their vast populations made them indifferent to the possibility of a Jewish uprising, but the chief reason, as it seems to me, was pity for men in whom they detected absolutely no sign of revolution. At Gerasa not only were those who remained left unmolested, but those who wished to leave were escorted to the frontiers. |
| 6 |
| Excitata est autem etiam in regno Agrippæ adversum Judæos pernicies. Ipse quidem perrexerat ad Cestium Gallum Antiochiam, relicta administratione cuidam ex amicis, nomine Varo, Sohemo regi genere propinquo. Venerunt autem de Batanæa regione septuaginta numero viri et nobilitate et prudentia civium suorum præstantissimi, poscendi præsidii gratia, ut si qui scilicet apud eos quoque motus fierent, haberent idoneam custodiam per quam possent insurgentes quosque comprimere. Hos Varus, quosdam armatos de regiis præmittens, interfecit in itinere omnes. Ausus autem est tale facinus præter consilium Agrippæ, et propter nimiam avaritiam impie in gentiles suos agere non recusans, regnum omne corrupit, perseverans post tale scilicet principium in totum genus exercere iniquitatem, donec discussis Agrippa rebus animadvertere quidem in eum veritus est, propter iniquitatem Sohemi, procuranda tamen eum regione summovit. Seditiosi autem, capto præsidio quod appellatur Cyprus, imminens finibus Hierichuntis, custodes quidem interfecerunt, munimenta autem destruxerunt. Per eosdem dies etiam in Machærunte multitudo Judæorum persuadebat in præsidio relictis Romanis, deserere castellum, eisque tradere. Illi autem quod rogabantur cogi metuentes, pacti sunt cum eis discessionem suam ; et accipientes fidem, tradunt præsidium quod diligentibus coeperunt Machæruntii custodiis obtinere. |
Even in Agrippa’s kingdom disaster was stirred up against the Jews. He himself had gone to see Cestius Gallus at Antioch, leaving in charge of affairs a friend of his called Varus, a blood-relative of King Soëmus. Seventy men then came from Batanæa, citizens outstanding in ability and wisdom, to ask for a military guard so that, if there should be any disturbance in their district, they would have adequate forces to suppress any insurgents. Varus sent out by night some of the king’s heavy infantry and massacred all seventy, committing this dastardly crime regardless of the counsel of Agrippa, and through his unlimited avarice not refusing to act against his own countrymen, he damaged the whole kingdom. He continued to practice this evil against his entire race until Agrippa heard of his conduct, and though fearing to do wrong by Soëmus by putting him to death, deprived him of his regency. The insurgents seized a fortress called Cypros overlooking Jericho, exterminating the garrison and razing the defenses to the ground. At about the same date the large number of Jews at Machærus convinced the Roman garrison to leave the fortress and hand it over to them. The Romans, afraid that they would be forced to yield what was being asked for, agreed to withdraw under a truce and, accepting the guarantees provided, handed over the fortress, which the Machæruntians began to garrison with diligent sentinels. |
| 7 |
— Caput B-21 —
Judæi Alexandriæ occisi. |
| In Alexandria autem semper quidem erat incolis adversum Judæos seditio, jam ab illo tempore, ex quo strenuis Alexander contra Ægyptios usus Judæis præmium societatis tradidit eis, et habitandi apud Alexandriam facultatem, et jus civitatis æquale cum gentibus. Permanebat autem eis honor iste apud successores quoque Alexandri ; denique et in parte urbis locum eis proprium deputaverunt, quatenus haberent conversationem per omnia mundiorem a communione scilicet gentium sequestratam ; præstiteruntque eis, ut etiam Macedones appellarentur. Deinceps vero quum in ditionem Romanorum Ægyptus venisset, neque Cæsar primus, neque post eum quispiam, honores quos Alexander Judæis decreverat minuit. Conflictus autem eorum adversus Græcos pæne continuus erat ; et judicibus in multos quotidie ab utraque parte animadvertentibus, seditio accendebatur. Tunc vero, quum et apud alios turbata res esset, illic magis exarsit tumultus. Nam quum Alexandrini in contionem venissent ut ordinarent pro certis negotiis legationem ad Neronem ferendam, occurrerunt in amphitheatrum permixti Græcis plurimi Judæorum. Quos quum vidissent æmuli, extemplo clamare cœperunt Judæos hostes et exploratores esse ; ac deinceps insilientes intulerunt eisdem manus ; et reliqui quidem fugientes dissipati sunt, tres vero ex his comprehensos, trahebant, quasi vivos incensuri. Commoti sunt autem universi Judæi ad opem ferendam ; et primum quidem in Græcos saxa faciebant, postea vero etiam facibus raptis in amphitheatrum impetum fecerunt, comminantes quod in ipso loco tantum simul populum concremarent, et pæne minas implessent rebus, nisi iras eorum compressisset Tiberius Alexander, magistratus civitatis. Nec tamen ipse coërcendi principium ab armis sumpsit, sed nobiles eorum quosque summittens, hortabatur ut desinerent, neque adversum se milites Romanos commoverent. Seditiosi autem benignam deprecationem ridentes, Tiberium contumeliis appetebant. |
At Alexandria there had been constant strife between the natives and the Jewish colony ever since Alexander, finding the Jews very ready to help against the Egyptians, had rewarded them with partnership, permission to dwell in Alexandria and citizenship with the same rights as the gentiles. They retained this privilege under his successors; finally, they also assigned them their own quarter in part of the city, so that they could maintain a cleaner regime separate from the commonality of the gentiles, and authorized them to call themselves Macedonians as well. When the Romans subsequently became masters of Egypt, neither the first Cæsar nor any of his successors diminished the privileges granted to the Jews by Alexander. But there were continual clashes between Jews and Greeks, and as the authorities punished many of both sides, the strife became ever more acute. At this time, when everywhere else was in upheaval, the rioting broke out there even more. It happened that the citizens were holding a public meeting to consider a proposal to send an embassy about certain matters to Nero, when there poured into the amphitheater along with the Greeks a great many Jews. When the opponents caught sight of them, they suddenly yelled that the Jews were enemies and spies. Then they sprang up and went for them tooth and nail. Most of the Jews fled and dispersed, but three of them were seized and hauled off to be burnt alive. Alarmed, the whole Jewish colony sprang to their defense; first the pelted the Greeks with stones; then they snatched up torches and rushed to the amphitheater, threatening to burn to death every single person there. And they would actually have done it had their ardor not been checked by Tiberius Alexander, the governor of the city. He employed no force in his first attempt to teach them sense, but unobtrusively sent respected figures among them to appeal to them to desist and not provoke the Roman army to attack them. But treating this appeal with contempt, the insurgents heaped abuse on Tiberius. |
| 8 |
| Qui postquam vidit absque magna calamitate tumultuosos non posse compesci, immisit in eos duas Romanorum legiones quæ in civitate erant, et cum his alios quinque milia milites, casu ad Judæorum interitum de Libya venientes, præcepitque ut non solum interficerent, sed etiam bona eorum diriperent, domosque inflammarent. Qui protinus concurrentes in locum qui vocatur « Delta » (illic quippe erat Judæorum multitudo collecta) exsequebantur strenue jussa — nec sane sine cruenta victoria. Conglobati enim Judæi, his quos melius armatos habebant in fronte positis, aliquamdiu quidem restiterunt ; semel vero in fugam versi mactabantur ; nec unus erat exitii modus, quum alii sub divo atque in campo deprehenderentur, in ædes autem alii concluderentur, et eas quoque succenderent Romani, una etiam diripiendo quæ in his reperissent ; quum neque illos aut infantum misericordia aut reverentia senectutis moveret, sed in omnes ætates pari cæde sævirent. Unde totus quidem ille locus sanguine redundabat ; quinquaginta vero congesta sunt milia mortuorum ; nec tamen saltem reliquiæ remansissent, nisi ad preces se contulissent, eorumque misertus Alexander Romanos jussisset abscedere. Sed illi quidem quibus erat consuetum obœdire præceptis, primo ejus nutu necibus pepercerunt ; populares autem Alexandrini propter odii magnitudinem difficulter ab incepto revocabantur, vixque a cadaveribus distrahebantur. |
Realizing that nothing less than a major calamity would halt the rebels, he then let loose among them the two Roman legions, and with them another 2,000 soldiers who happened to have come from Libya, to the ruin of the Jews. He gave the men leave not merely to kill them but also to plunder their property and burn down their houses. The soldiers rushed into the area called the “Delta” where the Jews were concentrated and proceeded to carry out their orders energetically, but not with an unbloody victory; for the Jews clustered together with their most heavily armed men in front and indeed resisted for some while. But once they turned to flight, they were slaughtered wholesale. Death came upon them in many ways; some were overtaken in the open and in the fields, others driven into their houses; and the Romans set fire to those too, while simultaneously looting what they had found in them. They felt no pity for infants, no respect for the aged; all ages were slaughtered with equal abandon, so that the whole district was awash in blood and 50,000 corpses were heaped up; even the remnant would not have survived had they not begged for mercy till Alexander, pitying them, ordered the Romans to retire. In response they with their habitual obedience ceased killing at his first word, but the populace of Alexandria, due to the intensity of their hate, were hard to call back from what they had started and could hardly be dragged away from the bodies. |
| 9 |
— Caput B-22 —
De strage Cestii in Judæos. |
| Apud Alexandriam quidem talis casus evenit. Cestio vero jam quiescendum esse non videbatur, infensis ubique Judæis, sed Duodecimam Legionem integram ex Antiochia secum ducens, et ex reliquis bina milia lecta peditum, et quattuor alas equitum, insuperque regum auxilia, hoc est Antiochi duo milia equitum, et peditum tria milia, sagittarios omnes, Agrippæ vero tantundem peditum et equitum mille, et quum Sohemus sequeretur quattuor milibus comitatus, quorum tertia pars equitum erat, pluresque sagittarii, Ptolemaida progressus est. Plurimi autem ex civitatibus auxilio convenere, peritia quidem militibus inferiores ; quod autem scientiæ deerat, in Judæos odio itemque alacritate supplentes. Aderat autem ipse quoque Agrippa Cestio — et eorum quæ conducerent simul, et itineris, princeps. Ibi cum abducta exercitus parte Cestius in validissimam Galilææ civitatem contendit Zabulon, quæ appellatur « Virorum », et ab Judæorum finibus Ptolemaida discernit. Quumque offendisset eam civibus destitutam (in montes enim multitudo refugerat) omnigenum autem rerum plenam, illas quidem militibus diripiendas concessit ; ipsum vero oppidum, quamvis admiratus esset ejus pulchritudinem, quippe domus habebat similiter ut apud Tyrum et Sidona et Berytum ædificatas, incendit. Deinde cursu territorio peregrato, quicquid invenisset obviam depopulatus est ; inflammatisque etiam circum eam positis vicis, in Ptolemaida revertit. Syris autem adhuc prædæ inhærentibus, et præcipue Berytiis, recepta Judæi fiducia (Cestium enim recessisse cognoverant) repente in eos qui remanserant irruunt, et prope ad duo milia cædunt. |
Such was the calamity at Alexandria. Cestius felt he could not sit idle now that on every side the Jews were hostile. He set out from Antioch at the head of the Twelfth Legion at full strength, 2,000 picked men from each of the others, four troops of cavalry, plus contingents sent by the kings, that is, Antiochus furnishing 2,000 horse and 3,000 foot, all bowmen, Agrippa the same number of foot and 1,000 horse, while Soëmus followed with 4,000 men of whom a third were mounted and the majority bowmen. With this force Cestius advanced toward Ptolemais. Very large reinforcements were collected from the cities. Their skill was inferior to that of the soldiers, but their enthusiastic hatred of the Jews made up for their lack of training. Agrippa was also there in person — as chief both of what was best to do and of the march. At the head of a portion of his troops Cestius marched against a powerful stronghold in Galilee named Zebulon (also called “the City of Men”), which divides Ptolemais from Jewish territory. This he found deserted, as the population had fled to the mountains; but it was full of valuables of every kind, which he allowed the soldiers to loot. As much as he admired the beauty of the town itself — the architecture being similar to that of Tyre, Sidon and Berytus — he nevertheless set fire to it. Then he overran the district and laid waste to everything he came across. Having burnt down the surrounding villages, he returned to Ptolemais. But while the Syrians, especially the men from Berytus, were still busy looting, the Jews plucked up courage on learning that Cestius had gone and, swooping without warning on those left behind, destroyed about 2,000 men. |
| 10 |
| Cestius autem ex Ptolemaide profectus, ipse quidem Cæsaream pervenit ; in Joppen vero partem præmisit exercitus cum præceptis hujusmodi, ut oppidum custodirent, si eo potiri possent ; aut si oppidani impetum præsensissent, tam suum quam ceterorum militum præstolarentur adventum. Illorum igitur alii mari, alii terra profecti, utrimque Joppen facillime capiunt, ita ut ne fugæ quidem habitatores copiam reperirent, nedum ad pugnam se pararent. Aggressi autem cunctos interficiunt cum familiis, direptamque civitatem incendunt. Interfectorum autem numerus octo milia quadringenti fuerunt. Simili modo et in finitimam Samariæ Nabartenen toparchiam non paucos misit equites, qui et partem finium vindicaverunt, magnamque indigenarum multitudinem peremerunt ; direptisque patrimoniis, etiam vicos igni dederunt. |
Cestius left Ptolemais and marched to Cæsarea, sending part of his army ahead to Joppa. If they could take over the city, they were to garrison it; if their approach was observed, they were to wait for him and the rest of the army. Thus they easily captured Joppa from two sides, the ones coming by sea, the others by land; the inhabitants had no chance to escape, much less to prepare for battle, so the Romans burst in and slaughtered them all with their families, and looted and burnt the city. The number killed was 8,400. In the same way Cestius sent a large force of cavalry into the prefecture of Narbata, near Cæsarea; they took over part of the territory and killed a great number of the inhabitants, looting their property and burning down even their villages. |
| 11 |
— Caput B-23 —
De pugna Cestii contra Hierosolymam. |
| In Galilæam quoque misit Cæsennium Gallum, ductorem Duodecimæ Legionis, eique tantam militum manum attribuit quantam genti expugnandæ sufficere posse credebat. Eum validissima Galilææ civitas Sepphoris cum favore suscepit. Hujusque prudens consilium secutæ civitates aliæ quiescebant. Qui vero seditionibus et latrociniis operam dabant, in Galilææ montem undique medium recessere, qui est contra Sepphorim, et vocatur Asamon. Adversus eos Gallus ductabat exercitum. Illi autem, quamdiu superiores erant, facile Romanos ad se ascendentes arcebant, et ex his plures quam ducentos interfecerunt. Ubi vero eos viderunt circumacto itinere ad celsiora progressos, mature victoriam concesserunt ; et neque pugnam minus armati ferebant, neque, si terga dedissent, equitum poterant manus effugere ; adeo ut pauci locis asperis delitescerent, amplius vero quam duo milia trucidarentur. |
He dispatched Cæsennius Gallus, commander of the Twelfth Legion, to Galilee, giving him such forces as he thought sufficient to deal with that part of the country. He had an enthusiastic reception in Sepphoris, the strongest city in Galilee, and the other towns followed its good sense and remained quiet. The insurgents and gangsters all fled to the mountain range in the very middle of Galilee situated opposite Sepphoris and known as Asamon. Against these, Gallus led his troops. As long as the others held a position of advantage, they easily repulsed the Romans as they were climbing up, killing over two hundred of them; but when they found that the Romans had gone around them and attained higher positions, they quickly gave up; men lightly armed could not sustain the battle nor, if they turned and ran, could they escape the attacks of the cavalry, the result being that, while a few managed to hide in the rough terrain, over 2,000 were killed. |
|
| ⇑ § XIX |
Quas res Cestius
adversus Judæos gessit.
Utque quum Hierosolyma
obsedisset, præter omnium
exspectationem ab urbe
discessit : et quænam,
dum revertitur,
a Judæis passus est. | What Cestius did against the Jews ; and how, upon his besieging Jerusalem, he retreated from the City without any just occasion in the world. As also what severe calamities he underwent from the Jews in his retreat. |
| 1 |
| Gallus igitur, quum nihil jam temptari novitatis apud Galilæam videret, Cæsaream cum exercitu remeabat. Cestius vero cum omni manu reversus in Antipatridem perrexit. Cognitoque non parvam multitudinem Judæorum in turrim quæ Aphæci vocabatur esse collectam, qui cum his congrederentur præmisit. Sed priusquam in manus venirent, Judæi metu dispersi sunt ; eorumque castra jam desolata milites adorti, cum vicis circumpositis incenderunt. Ex Antipatride autem Cestius in Lyddam profectus, vacuam viris civitatem offendit. Nam propter Scenopegiorum dies festos, in Hierosolymam populus omnis ascenderat. Quinquaginta vero quos ibi comprehendit occisis, exustoque oppido, ulterius procedebat ; perque Bethoron profectus, in quodam loco cui nomen est Gabeo castra posuit, distante ab Hierosolymis stadiis L•. |
Gallus saw no further signs of revolt in Galilee, so he led his army back to Cæsarea. But Cestius, turning back, set out with his whole force and entered Antipatris. There he learnt that in a town called Aphek a large force of Jews had collected; so he sent a detachment on ahead to attack it. But before any battle could happen the Jews scattered in panic; the soldiers took possession of their camp and burnt it along with the surrounding villages. From Antipatris Cestius went on to Lydda, which he found empty of men, for the whole population had gone to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. After killing fifty of those whom he did catch there, he burned the town down and continued his advance, passed on through Beth-horon and encamped in a place called Gibeon, six miles from Jerusalem. |
| 2 |
| Judæi vero, quum jam Civitati propinquare bellum viderent, omissis dierum festorum sollemnibus, ad arma properabant, satisque freti multitudine, incompositi ad pugnam et cum clamore prosiliebant, ne dierum quidem septem habita ratione feriatorum. Erat enim Sabbatum, quod apud eos religione maxima curabatur. Idem autem furor qui eos ab obsequio pietatis emoverat, in prœlio quoque superiores effecit. Tanto namque impetu Romanos aggressi sunt, ut eorum et aciem perrumperent, viaque aperta cædibus in medios ruerent ; ac nisi ei militum parti quæ necdum locum amiserat, equites ex circuitu subvenissent quique nondum defecerant pedites, in periculo totus Cestii exercitus fuisset. Interfecti sunt autem quingenti et quindecim Romani milites, ex quibus quadringenti pedites, ceteri equites erant, Judæi vero vigintiduo. Fortissimi autem videbantur Monobazi, regis Adiabeni, propinqui — Monobazus et Cenedæus —, et post hos Peraita Niger, et Silas Babylonius qui ad Judæos ab Agrippa rege transfugerat, cui pridem militabat. A fronte igitur repulsi Judæi, ad Civitatem revertebantur. Romanos autem, ad Bethoron ascendentes, Gioræ filius Simon invadit, multosque postremi agminis coactores laniavit ac multos carros cum sarcinis captos in Civitatem reduxit. Cestio vero in agris triduo commorante, Judæi locis superioribus occupatis, observabant ejus transitum ; neque cessaturos eos certum erat, si Romani proficisci cœpissent. |
The Jews, seeing that war was now approaching the Capital, abandoned the Feast and rushed to arms; and with complete confidence in their numbers but without any organization they leapt boisterously into the fray, not even heeding the days off of the week, although this was the Sabbath, which they usually observed scrupulously. But the same frenzy that made them disregard the observance of religious duty also made them victorious in battle; for they fell upon the Romans with such fury that they broke through their ranks and charged slaughtering through their midst. Had not the cavalry circled around and come to the aid of those infantry units that had not yet lost their footing, the whole of Cestius’s army would have been in peril. The Romans lost five hundred and fifteen killed — four hundred infantry and the rest cavalry; the Jews twenty-two. The most courageous were kinsmen of Monobazus, the king of Adiabene, Monobazus and Cenedæus, closely followed by Niger the Peræan and Silas the Babylonian; the latter had deserted to the Jews from King Agrippa, in whose army he had originally served. Their frontal attack halted, the Jews turned back to the City; but as the Romans were climbing back up to Beth-horon, Simon, son of Gioras, attacked them, severely mauled their rearguard, and drew many of their captured wagons with their baggage back to the City. Cestius remained in the field for three days, while the Jews seized the heights and kept watch on his movements, it being clear that they were not about to yield if the Romans began to march. |
| 3 |
— Caput B-24 —
De obsidione Hierosolymæ a Cestio, et strage. |
| Itaque dum Agrippa, infinita hostium multitudine montes amplexa, ne Romanos quidem a periculo tutos esse perspiceret, verbis Judæos experiri decrevit, vel omnes sibi parituros existimans ut bello desisterent vel, si qui adversarentur, revocandos qui ab eorum sententia discreparent. Misit igitur ex comitibus suis Borcæum et Phœbum, quos illis sciebat notissimos, ut a Cestio fœdus amicitiæ, certamque pro peccatis a populo Romano veniam pollicerentur si, projectis armis, secum sentire voluissent. Verum seditiosi, metu ne cuncta multitudo spe securitatis ad Agrippam sese conferret, legatos obtruncare statuerunt ; et Phœbum, quidem priusquam verbum faceret, peremerunt, nam Borcæus vulneratus effugit ; populares autem, hoc indigne ferentes factum, cædendo fustibus atque lapidibus in Oppidum compulerunt. |
At this point Agrippa, seeing that not even a Roman army was safe when such a huge enemy force occupied the hills around, decided to try an appeal to the Jews — thinking that either they would all obey him and cease the hostilities or, if some refused, he would detach the ones who disagreed with their views. He therefore chose from his staff the two men best known to the Jews, Borcæus and Phœbus, and sent them to promise that Cestius would grant them a treaty, and to guarantee that the Romans would overlook their offenses if they threw away their arms and would agree with him. But the insurgents, fearing that in the hope of indemnity the entire host would go over to Agrippa, decided to kill his emissaries. Before he could utter a word, they murdered Phœbus, while Borcæus was wounded but managed to escape. Those citizens who expressed outrage over this deed were attacked with clubs and stones and chased back into the City. |
| 4 |
| Cestius vero, quia intestinam eorum discordiam opportunum ad irruendum tempus invenit, totum in eos duxit exercitum, inque fugam versos usque ad Hierosolymam persecutus est. Castris autem in loco positis qui appellatur Scopus, intervallo septem stadiorum a Civitate discedens, nihil per triduum adversus Oppidum conabatur, sperans fortasse intus degentes aliquid remissuros. In vicos autem circa Civitatem, non parvam militum manum ad rapienda frumenta dimisit. Quarto autem die, qui tricesimus mensis erat Octobris, ordinatum in Oppidum introduxit exercitum. Populus quidem a seditiosis custodiebatur ; ipsi autem Romanorum disciplina territi, exterioribus cessere partibus Civitatis, et in partem interiorem Templi refugerunt. Cestius vero, transgressus Bezethan (quæ sic vocatur, et « Cænopolim ») et forum quod appellatur Materiarum incendit. Deinde quum ad superiorem Civitatem venisset, prope aulam regiam castra posuit. Et si tunc voluisset intra muros violenter irrumpere, Civitatem ilico possedisset belloque finem dedisset. Sed Tyrannus et Priscus, præfectus castrorum, et plures equitum magistri, a Floro pecunia corrupti, conatum ejus averterunt, et Judæos intolerandis repleri cladibus contigit. |
Cestius, seeing that their internal divisions invited attack, brought up his entire army, routed the Jews and pursued them all the way to Jerusalem. He pitched his camp on Mount Scopus, three quarters of a mile from the City, but for three days he tried nothing against the town, perhaps expecting that the occupants would yield. Meanwhile he sent out many of his soldiers to seize grain in the surrounding villages. On the fourth day, the 30th of the month of October, he formed up his army and marched into town. The people were under the control of the insurgents, and the insurgents, panicked by the discipline of the Romans, withdrew from the outskirts of the City and retreated into the inner part of the Temple. Cestius on arrival set fire to Bezetha {(“City of Olives”)} (thus called, and also known as “Cænopolis” {[“New City”]}) and the so-called Timber Market. Then after coming to the Upper City, he encamped in front of the Palace. And if he had chosen at that moment to storm the walls, he would have immediately captured the City and put an end to the war. But both Tyrannus Priscus, the camp prefect, and most of the cavalry officers, bribed by Florus, dissuaded him from the attempt, and the result was that the Jews were surfeited with unbearable disasters. |
| 5 |
| Interea plurimi popularium nobilissimi et Ananus, Jonathæ filius, Cestium, quasi portas ei patefacturi, vocabant. Ille autem et ira fastidiens, et quod non satis ei credendum putaret, tam diu id neglexit, donec proditione comperta, seditiosi Ananum quidem cum ceteris, de muro dejectis, lapidibus feriendo, in domos suas refugere coegerunt ; ipsi vero per turres dispositi, murum temptantibus repugnabant. Per dies igitur quinque Romanis undique temptantibus frustrabatur conatus. Sexto autem Cestius, cum plurimis selectis itemque sagittariis, a Septentrionali tractu Templum aggreditur, Judæis ex porticu resistentibus. Qui frequenter quidem Romanos ad murum adeuntes avertere, postremo autem repulsi telorum multitudine, recesserunt. Itaque Romanorum qui anteibant, scutis suis muro nixi, et qui eos sequebantur, aliis ac per ordinem aliis similiter superadjunctis, quam sic ipsi appellant, « testudinem » contexuerunt. Unde sagittæ in eam delatæ, irritæ delabebantur, et sine aliqua noxa milites mœnia suffodiebant Templique portas incendere moliebantur. |
At this juncture many of the prominent citizens, and Ananus, son of Jonathan, sent a call to Cestius, assuring him that they would open the gates to him. He, however, filled with loathing and anger, and not really believing him, disregarded it so long until the insurgents, discovering the betrayal, threw Ananus and his associates down from the wall, pelted them with stones and drove them into their houses; then stationed on the towers, they showered missiles from the towers on those who were trying to climb the wall. A five-day effort of the Romans to attack from all directions was brought to naught; on the sixth day Cestius, at the head of a large force of picked men plus the archers, began to assault the Temple from the north, while the Jews resisted from the colonnade. They repeatedly warded off the Romans who approached the wall, but at length they were driven back by the hail of missiles and withdrew. The front rank of the Romans then propped their shields against the wall, and then the next rows, successively joining theirs up one after another, formed what they call a “tortoise.” When the missiles fell on this they glanced off harmlessly and the soldiers received no hurt as they undermined the wall and prepared to set the Temple gate on fire. |
| 6 |
| Vehemens autem seditiosos stupor invaserat, jamque multi ex Civitate diffugiebant, veluti continuo caperetur. His autem populus alacrior efficiebatur, et quantum nequissimi cadebant, tantum ut ipsi portas aperirent, Cestiumque quam optime de se meritum, reciperent, appropinquabant. Et profecto, si paululum in obsidione perseverasset, statim Civitatem obtinuisset. Sed credo jam tunc infestus Deus pessimis, ejusque Sancta illo die finem bello dare prohibuerunt. |
Utter panic seized the insurgents, and many now began to run from the City as though it were just about to be captured. This put the people in better spirits and, as the criminals fell back, they themselves went forward to open the gates and welcome Cestius as their benefactor. If only he had persevered with the siege a little longer he would have captured the City at once; but I think that God was at that time already angry with evil men, and they forbade his Holy Places to put an end to the war that day. |
| 7 |
| Denique Cestius, neque animis populi neque obsessorum desperatione perspecta, repente militem revocat, et sine ulla spei repulsa, inconsulte nimis ac injuste discessit. Inopinata vero ejus fuga latronum fiduciam recreavit, insecutique novissimos aliquot equitum peditumque peremere. Et tunc quidem Cestius in castra quæ apud Scopon munierat, tetendit ; altero autem die ulterius recedendo, magis hostes provocavit, jamque postremos assecuti multos necabant, tum utraque itineris parte vallata, in transversos tela jactabant. Et neque in eos se retorquere a quibus a tergo sauciabantur novissimi audebant, quandam infinitam multitudinem insequi existimantes, neque a lateribus instantium vim repellere sufficiebant, quum ipsi quidem graves essent ordinemque interrumpere formidarent, viderent autem Judæos leves et ad excurrendum faciles esse. Unde eveniebat ut multa mala perpeterentur, quum nihil contra inimicis nocerent. Tota igitur via perculsi, dejectique agmine sternebantur, donec multis occisis — in quibus erat Priscus, Sextæ Legionis dux, et Longinus tribunus, et Æmilius Jucundus, alæ præfectus —, vix in Gabao pervenirent ubi castra prius posuerant, multis impedimentis amissis. Hic autem Cestius biduum commoratus, inops consilii quid ageret, quum tertio die majorem hostium vidisset numerum et omnia circum loca plena Judæis, tarditatem ibi obfuisse cognovit, et si adhuc ibi maneret, plures se hostes habiturum. |
At any rate Cestius, recognizing neither the despair of the besieged nor the feelings of the people, suddenly called off his men, and without any of his hopes having been dashed, quite imprudently and unwarrantedly left. His unexpected flight regenerated the confidence of the gangsters and, pursuing his rearguard, they destroyed numbers of his cavalry and infantry. That night Cestius bivouacked in the camp he had fortified on Mount Scopus; the next day by retreating further he provoked the enemy still more, and they, following on his heels, inflicted many casualties. Lining both sides of the route, they hurled their spears at the flanks. The rear files dared not turn and face those who were causing them casualties from behind, as they thought an enormous army was pursuing them, nor were they able enough to repel the attacks of those who were attacking them from the flanks, since they themselves were weighed down with arms and afraid to disrupt their ranks, while they saw that the Jews were lightly armed and suited for sudden swoops. This meant that they suffered severely without harming the other side at all. Throughout the march the battering continued, and men who lost their places in the column were killed. At last, when many were dead — among them Priscus the commander of the Sixth Legion, Longinus the tribune and a cavalry officer named Æmilius Jucundus —, they barely managed to reach Gabao, where they had previously camped, after having lost a great deal of their baggage. There Cestius remained two days at a loss for what to do; on the third, seeing the numbers of the enemy greatly swelled and the whole surrounding terrain swarming with Jews, he realized that delay had cost him, and that if he remained any longer he would have more enemies still. |
| 8 |
| Itaque pro compendio fugæ, cuncta quæ militibus impedimento erant, amputari præcepit ; occisisque mulis atque asinis aliisque jumentis, præter illa quæ sagittas et machinas ferrent (hæc enim velut usui futura servabat, maxime quia timebat ne Judæis contra se capta prodessent), Bethoron versus antecedebat exercitum. At Judæi latioribus quidem locis minus instabant ; contractos vero in angustias atque descensus, alii ab exitu prohibebant, alii postremos agminis trudebant in vallem, fusaque omnis multitudo per itineris juga militem sagittis operiebat. Ubi etiam peditibus quo pacto sibimet subvenirent hæsitantibus, equitum periculum promptius erat. Nec enim ordinate viam prosequi poterant, obstantibus jaculis ; et ne contra hostes irent, ascensus ardui prohibebant equitantibus invii. Jaculatoribus autem rupes ac valles tenebantur ; in quas dejecti qui aberrasset consumebantur ; nullusque locus aut fugiendi aut resistendi rationem habebat. Itaque incerti quid agerent, ad ululatus, quod desperati solent, fletusque conversi sunt ; quibus resonabat Judæorum exhortatio, cum clamore lætantium pariter atque sævientium. Totusque pæne qui cum Cestio fuerat perisset exercitus, nisi nox advenisset, qua Romani quidem in Bethoron confugerunt, Judæi vero obsessis circum omnibus locis, eorum transitus custodiebant. |
To speed his flight he ordered everything that slowed down the column to be cast off. The mules and asses were slaughtered as well as the draft animals, except those carrying arrows and artillery (he kept these as being of use in future, especially because he feared that, captured, they would be helpful to the Jews against him). Then Cestius led his army on toward Beth-horon. In open terrain the Jews pressed them less vigorously, but when his men were crowded together in the descending narrows, some of the Jews blocked their egress, others drove the rearmost down into the ravine, and the main body, spread out on the ridges over the route, showered the soldiers with missiles. Where even the foot soldiers were hampered in aiding one another, the danger to the cavalry was still greater; for the infantry could not march in formation while being pelted, and the steep slopes made it impossible for mounted men to charge the enemy; the cliffs and ravines were held by the javelin-throwers, and anyone who was thrown down or fell into them perished. No place offered any way to flee or defend oneself. Thus at a loss as to what to do, they turned to lamentations, as despairing men do, and to weeping. The Jews retorted with cheers and shouts of mingled joy and rage; and almost the entire army which had been with Cestius would have perished had not night descended, enabling the Romans to take refuge in Beth-horon, while the Jews held the entire surroundings and waited for them to come out. |
| 9 |
| Denique ubi Cestius, aperto itinere desperato, jam de fuga cogitabat, lectos prope ad CCCC• omnium fortissimos milites, tectorum fastigiis imposuit. Hisque præcepit, vigilum qui in castris excubarent signa clamare, ut eo modo Judæi omnem illic militum numerum arbitrarentur remanere. Ipse autem cum ceteris otiose usque ad XXX• stadia progreditur. Unde mane quum Judæi locum quo Romani tetenderant desolatum vidissent, in quadringentos a quibus decepti fuerant concurrerunt. Et illos quidem sine mora jaculis confecerunt ; mox autem Cestium persequi properabant. Sed ille, quum nocte non parvum spatium itineris peregisset, die vehementius quoque fugiebat, adeo ut metu perculsi milites machinas, sive tormenta muralia, itemque ballistas multaque alia instrumenta relinquerent ; quibus tunc ablatis Judæi rursus contra illos qui ea reliquerant usi sunt. Insequendo autem Romanos, Antipatridem usque venerunt. Deinde, quum eos assequi non potuissent, inde redeuntes et machinas secum asportarunt, mortuosque spoliarunt et prædam quæ remanserat collegerunt ; et pæana canentes in metropolim remearunt, suis quidem paucis amissis, Romanorum autem et auxiliarium quinque milibus peditum ac CCC• itemque nongentis et octoginta equitibus interemptis. Hæc quidem Novembris mensis VIII• die gesta sunt, anno XII• Neronis principatus. |
Despairing now of openly continuing the march, Cestius decided on flight. He picked out some 400 of his most courageous soldiers and posted them on the roofs of buildings, instructing them to shout the watchwords of the camp sentries so that the Jews would believe the entire force to be still in position. He himself with the rest of his men advanced quietly three and a half miles. At dawn the Jews observed that the Roman quarters were empty and, rushing at the 400 who had tricked them, quickly disposed of them with javelins, then hurried off in pursuit of Cestius. He had gained a long lead in the night, and in daylight accelerated their flight even more, so that the soldiers in utter panic dumped the siege-machines such as the anti-rampart artillery, plus the ballistæ and a lot of other gear. Seizing it all, the Jews later used it against those who had abandoned it. They pursued the Romans all the way to Antipatris but failed to catch them; so, turning back they carried off the equipment and despoiled the dead, collected the booty that had been left behind and, with hymns of victory, marched back to the Capital. Their own casualties were few, but the Romans and their allies had lost 5,300 infantrymen and 980 cavalrymen killed. This action was fought on the 8th of November in the twelfth year of Nero’s reign. |
|
| ⇑ § XX |
Cestius legatos
mittit ad Neronem.
Damasceni Judæos
secum habitantes interficiunt.
Hierosolymitæ a Cestio
persequendo revertuntur
in urbem ; quumque res
ejus ordinassent,
multos creant duces, inque
his hunc ipsum scriptorem.
Nonulla de Josephi administratione. | Cestius sends ambassadors to Nero. The people of Damascus slay those Jews that lived with them. The people of Jerusalem after they had [left off] pursuing Cestius, return to the City and get things ready for its defense and make a great many generals for their armies, and particularly Josephus, the writer of these books. Some account of his administration. |
| 1 |
— Caput B-25 —
De Damascenorum sævitia in Judæos, deque Josephi studiis in Galilæa. |
| Post Cestii vero casus adversos, nobilium Judæorum multi, tanquam e navi pessum itura, ex Civitate enatabant. Denique Costobarus et Saulus fratres, una cum Philippo Jachimi filio, qui princeps erat exercitus regis Agrippæ, inde dilapsi ad Cestium transfugerunt. Qui vero cum his in aula regia fuerat obsessus Antipas, fuga despecta, quemadmodum a seditiosis interemptus sit, alias indicabimus. Cestius autem Saulum et ceteros in Achajam ad Neronem misit, et propriam necessitatem indicaturos et belli causas derivaturos in Florum. Speravit enim et iram in illum excitatum iri et sua pericula summovenda. |
After the disastrous defeat of Cestius, many prominent Jews fled from the City like swimmers from a sinking ship. Costobar with his brother Saul and Philip, son of Jacimus, the commander of King Agrippa’s army, slipped out of the City and went over to Cestius. But their companion in the siege of the Palace, Antipas, having disdained flight, was put to death by the insurgents, as I shall describe later. Cestius sent Saul and his friends at their own wish to Nero in Greece to acquaint him with their own plight and to lay the blame for the war on Florus; Nero’s anger against Florus would, he hoped, eliminate the dangers to himself. |
| 2 |
| Tunc autem Damasceni, cæde Romanorum cognita, Judæos apud se degentes opprimere studuerunt ; et quum eos in publicis thermis collectos haberent, (namque id propter suspiciones meditabantur) facilem quidem sui conatus exitum fore putabant. Verebantur autem mulieres suas, fere omnes præter paucas Judaizantes, et eorum religione imbutas. Quare his magna cura fuit eas celandi, quid agerent ; Judæorum autem decem milia, quippe ut in angusto loco, atque omnes inermes aggressi, una hora sine metu jugulaverunt. |
At this time the people of Damascus, learning of the destruction of the Roman forces, were looking for a way to exterminate the Jews in their midst. As they had them gathered together in the sports grounds, taking this precaution as a result of suspicion, they thought accomplishing their undertaking would be easy; but they were afraid of their own wives, almost all of whom, except for a few, were living according to the religious practices of the Jews and were steeped in their religion, so that their chief anxiety was to keep them in the dark about what they were doing. Falling upon the Jews, crowded together as they were in a narrow place and all unarmed, and in a single hour killed 10,000 of them with no problem. |
| 3 |
| Qui vero Cestium fugaverant, in Hierosolymam reversi, quos adhuc Romanorum studiosos invenissent, partim vi, partim blanditiis sibi etiam sociabant ; et in Templum congregati, plures belli duces eligendos esse censebant. Declaratus est igitur Josephus, Gorionis filius, et pontifex Ananus, omnia quæ in Civitate gerenda essent, imperaturi, maximeque ut Civitatis muros erigerent. Filium namque Simonis, Eleazarum, quamvis Romanis prædam, et ereptas Cestio pecunias, et insuper his plurima ex thesauris publicis in potestate haberet, tamen nullis necessitatibus præposuerunt, quod et ipsum tyrannidis superbia viderent efferri, ejusque studiosos sive imitatores, satellitum more versari. Verum paulatim Eleazarus, ambitione pecuniæ itemque astutia, persuasit populo ut omnibus parerent. |
Those who had put Cestius to flight returned to Jerusalem, where by force or persuasion they won over those who still favored Rome, and at a mass meeting in the Temple decided to appoint a lot of generals for the army. They chose Joseph, son of Gorion, and the pontiff Ananus {(who had had James, the brother of Jesus, killed)} to take full charge of all arrangements in the City, with special responsibility for increasing the height of the walls. Eleazar, son of Simon, had in his possession the Roman booty and the money captured from Cestius, together with vast public funds; but they did not put him in charge of any necessities as they saw that he himself got carried away with tyrannical arrogance, and that his followers or imitators were behaving like bodyguards. Gradually, however, Eleazar persuaded the people, through their urge for money as well as his cunning, to submit to everything. |
| 4 |
| In Idumæam vero quos mitterent, alios militum duces optarunt : Jesum filium Sapphæ, unum e pontificibus ; et Eleazarum, novi pontificis filium. Nigro autem mandaverunt, qui tunc Idumæam regebat, ex regione trans Jordanem posita genus ducens (unde « Peraites » cognominabatur), ut ducibus obtemperaret. Sed ne alias quidem regiones omittendas putabant. Namque in Hierichuntem Josephus filius Simonis, et trans flumen Manasses, et Tamnam Johannes Essæus, toparchias administraturi missi sunt. Huic autem Lydda, et Joppe, et Ammaus erant additæ. Gophniticæ autem et Acrabatenæ regionum Joannes, filius Ananiæ, rector designatus est ; et utriusque Galilææ Josephus Matthiæ filius. Hujus autem præfecturæ juncta erat et Gamala, munitissima civitatum quæ ibi fuere. |
But they chose other generals to send to Idumæa: Jeshua, son of Sapphas, one of the chief priests; and Eleazar, son of the pontiff Neus. The then governor of Idumæa, Niger, a native of Peræa east of Jordan (and therefore known as the Peræan), was instructed to accept orders from these generals. But neither was the rest of the country neglected. The prefectures were to be administered as follows: Joseph, son of Simon, was sent to Jericho; Manasseh, across the river; and John the Essene, Thamna — to which were attached Lydda, Joppa and Emmaus. The districts of Gophna and Acrabata were put under the command of John, son of Ananias; and both parts of Galilee were assigned to Josephus {(i.e., Flavius Josephus, author of this work)}, son of Matthias, together with Gamala, the most strongly fortified city in that area. |
| 5 |
| Aliorum igitur rectorum, pro alacritate ac prudentia sua, quisque res sibi creditas administrabat. Josephus autem, quum in Galilæam venisset, primum curæ habuit, indigenarum sibi conciliare benevolentiam, multa sciens ea confici posse, licet in aliis peccavisset. Deinde considerato quod potentissimos quidem amicos haberet si eos participes potestatis fecisset, omnem vero multitudinem si pleraque per indigenas et consuetos fieri præciperet, LXX• de senioribus ejus gentis prudentissimos elegit, eosque rectores totius Galilææ constituit, VII• vero per singulas civitates minorum litium judices. Nam majora negotia causasque capitales ad se referre jussit, et illos LXX•. |
Each of these generals carried out the task assigned to him with all the energy and intelligence he possessed. Josephus, on arriving in Galilee, gave first priority to securing the good will of the inhabitants, knowing that this could achieve a great deal even if he erred in other things. He saw that he would win over the most powerful men as friends if he shared his authority with them, and the people in general if he issued his instructions mainly through men who were native to the area and familiar to them. So he chose seventy of that folk’s wisest elderly men, and put them in charge of the whole of Galilee, appointing also seven judges in every town for lesser lawsuits, while he specified that major issues and cases of homicide should be referred to himself and the seventy. |
| 6 |
| Ceterum disposito per civitates jure quo inter se uterentur, etiam quemadmodum extrinsecus tuti essent animadvertit ; certusque in Galilæam Romanos esse venturos, opportuna loca muro cingebat, hoc est Jotapatan, et Bersabee et Selamin, necnon et Pereccho, et Japha, et Sigoph, et montem cui nomen est Itaburio, et Taricheas, et Tiberiada ; ad hæc etiam circa Genesar Lacum speluncas in ea quæ Inferior Galilæa vocabatur munivit. Superioris autem Galilææ Petram quæ « Achabrorum » dicitur, et Seph, et Jannitæ, et Mero ; in Gaulanitide vero Seleuciam et Soganen, et Gamalam munitione circumdedit. Solis autem Sepphoritis permisit, ut murum sibimetipsis fabricarent, quod eos pecuniosos esse, et ad bellum promptos etiam sine præcepto videret. Similiter autem Gischalam Josephi jussu per se muro cinxit Joannes, Leviæ filius. Ceteris autem castellis omnibus ipse Josephus intererat, jubendo simul atque opem ferendo. Quin et exercitum ex Galilæa, supra centum milia virorum comparavit, quos omnes undique collectis armis veteribus instruebat. |
After having established in the cities the law by which they were to interrelate, he turned his attention to their safety from external foes. Realizing that the Romans were going to invade Galilee, he built walls around the most suitable points: Jotapata, Bersabe and Selame, plus Caphareccho, Japha and Sigoph, the mountain called Itaburio, Tarichea and Tiberias, next fortifying the caverns near Lake Gennesaret in the area called Lower Galilee, and in Upper Galilee the rock called Acchabaron, Sepph, Jamnith and Mero. In Gaulanitis he surrounded Seleucia, Sogane and Gamala with fortifications. It was only the Sepphoritans whom he permitted to build a wall by themselves, because he saw that they were wealthy and keen for war even without any prompting. In the same way, John, son of Levi, surrounded Gischala with a rampart on his own responsibility at the request of Josephus. Joseph himself was present at all the other strongholds, simultaneously directing and rendering assistance. He also raised in Galilee a force of over 100,000 men, equipping them all with old weapons that he had got together from everywhere. |
| 7 |
| Deinde reputans hoc maxime Romanam invictam esse virtutem, quod dicto essent audientes rectoribus suis, et armorum exercitationi operam darent, doctrinam quidem urgente necessitate despexit, parendi autem facultatem ratus regentium multitudine posse contingere, ita ut Romani solent, divisit exercitum, pluresque fecit ordinum principes. Diversisque militum generibus constitutis, alios decadarchis, alios centurionibus, alios tribunis subdidit ; et insuper his ipsis rectores, majorum rerum administratores dedit. Docebatque signorum disciplinas et provocationes revocationesque buccinarum, et principia cornuum, et circumductiones, et quemadmodum oporteret laborantibus succurrere fortiores, et cum defatigatis partiri pericula ; quæque ad fortitudinem animi corporisque tolerantiam pertinerent instituebat. Maxime vero eos erudiebat ad bellum, usquequaque Romanam referens disciplinam, et quod cum viris essent prœliaturi qui et viribus corporis et animi obstinatione totum pæne orbem terræ superassent. His addidit, quo pacto belli tempore suis essent parituri præceptis, jam nunc periculum se facturum, si consuetis delictis — hoc est, furtis et latrociniis et rapinis — abstinuissent ; sed neque aut gentilibus fraudem facerent aut consuetissimorum damna proprium quæstum putarent. Illa enim bella optime administrari quorum milites bonam conscientiam gererent ; qui vero per se pravi fuissent, his non solum inimicos, sed etiam Deum hostem futurum. |
Josephus, knowing that the invincible Roman power lay chiefly in the fact that they listened on command to their officers and practiced military exercises, given the pressing need, paid little attention to indoctrination and, instead, understanding that the habit of obedience could result from the number of officers, partitioned his army as the Romans normally do, and created more section leaders. He divided the soldiers into different classes, and put some under sergeants, others under captains, others under colonels, and the colonels under generals, who were the commanders of larger units. He taught them the art of signaling, the trumpet calls of advance and retreat, the basics of flank attacks and encircling movements, how a victorious unit should relieve one in difficulties, and to take over a share of the danger of those who were exhausted. He explained everything that contributed to stamina of body or fortitude of spirit. Above all he trained them for war by stressing Roman discipline at every turn: they would be facing men who had conquered almost the entire world by physical prowess and unshakable determination. He added that he could already tell now the way in which they would obey his commands in wartime if they abstained from their usual crimes — that is, from theft and banditry and looting — and if they did not defraud their countrymen or regard as personal gain the misfortunes of their closest friends. For the wars that were best managed were those whose soldiers maintained a good conscience; but men whose private life was crooked would have not only human enemies but God as their foe. |
| 8 |
| Multa in hunc modum admonendo perseverebat. Et jam quidem quantum prœlio parandum esset, conflatum erat. Nam LX• peditum milia, CCL• equites, ac præter hos etiam mercennarios, quibus maxime fretus erat, habebat quattuor milia quingentos ; necnon et sescentos circa se electos custodes corporis atque satellites. Exceptis autem mercennariis, facile ceteri milites a civitatibus alebantur. Namque singulæ quas enumeravimus, quum mediam sui multitudinem mitterent in militiam, reliquos ad comparandum eis vīctum tenebant, ut pars armis, atque alia pars faciendis operibus dirimeretur, et armati securitatem rependerent suggerentibus commeatum. |
To this effect he exhorted them continually. The number necessary for battle had already been assembled. He had 60,000 foot and 250 horse and, besides these, the troops he trusted most, about 4,500 professional soldiers. He also had 600 elite bodyguards and escorts. Maintenance for all except the professionals was easily obtained from the towns, as the individual towns we mentioned sent half of their men to the army and kept the rest to supply them with rations; so that part was partitioned off for combat, and the other part for work service, and the fighting men repaid with security those who supplied the provisions. |
|
| ⇑ § XXI |
De Joanne Giscaleno.
Contra ejus insidias
alias struit Josephus ;
et urbes nonullas,
quas ab ipso defecerunt,
recipit. | Concerning John of Gischala. Josephus uses stratagems against the plots John laid against him and recovers certain cities which had revolted from him. |
| 1 |
— Caput B-26 —
De Josephi periculis et evasione, et Joannis Gischalæi malitia. |
| Josepho autem hoc modo administranti Galilæam, insurrexit quidam insidiator, patria Gischala ortus, Leviæ filius, nomine Joannes, callidissimus, ac dolis plenus, et nequitia quidem nobilissimus omnium, antea vero pauper, et aliquamdiu malitiæ suæ impedimentum passus inopiam, facile mentiri paratus, mirusque fidem adhibere mendacio ; et qui fallaciam virtutem putaret, eaque adversus amicissimos uteretur ; simulator humanitatis, et spe lucri appetentissimus cædium ; qui semper quidem immoderata concupisset, spem vero levioribus maleficiis aluisset. Latro enim erat, sui moris, ac solitarius ; deinde etiam comitatum invenit audaciæ, primo quidem parvum, ampliorem autem proficiens. Curæ autem habebat, neminem ignavum asciscere, sed qui et habitudine corporis, et animi magnitudine, bellorumque peritia præstarent, hos eligebat ; donec CCCC• virorum catervam congregavit, quorum plures ex Tyriorum finibus et vicis erant. Isque omnem Galilæam depopulabatur et multos futuri belli metu suspensos lacerabat. |
While Josephus was busy organizing the defense of Galilee, there appeared on the scene a plotter from Gischala, the son of Levi, John by name, an extremely cunning trickster and the world’s most eminent man in evil. He began as a poor man and for some time suffered poverty as an impediment to his wickedness. But being a ready liar and amazing at winning belief in his lies, he considered deceit a virtue and practiced it on his closest friends, and while simulating humanity, he was eager to murder anybody for his money; there was no limit to his ambitions, but he nourished his hopes with the lowest misdeeds. He was a solitary bandit, operating on his own, but later found associates for his audacity, a handful at first but more and more numerous as he grew more successful. He was careful to accept no sluggards, and chose men for their physique, strong will and military experience, till he got together a gang four hundred strong, mainly from Tyre and the neigboring villages. And the man plundered all Galilee, terribly victimizing the many who were suffering from anxiety over the imminence of war. |
| 2 |
| Hunc igitur jamdudum regendi milites cupientem, et majora desiderantem, diu pecuniæ retardabat inopia. Quumque videret Josephum sua industria lætari, persuadet ei primum ut fabricandi muri patriæ sollicitudinem sibi committeret. In qua re quæstus magnos a locupletibus fecit. Deinde callidissima fraude composita, velut oleo quod non a gentilibus suis tractatum esset uti caverent omnes apud Syriam Judæi, ut ad confinia oleum mitteretur depoposcit, nummoque Tyrio qui quattuor Atticos faceret, emptis quattuor amphoris, eodem pretio, amphoræ dimidium venumdabat. Quumque Galilæa ferax esset olei, maximo illo tempore magna ubertate redundaret, in ea loca ubi erat penuria solus multumque mittendo, infinitam summam pecuniæ congregavit, qua mox in eum usus est, qui hoc sibi beneficium præstitisset. Denique existimans si Josephum deposuisset, rectorem se Galilææ futurum, quibus præerat latronibus imperavit prædam vehementius exercere, quo multis rebus novis per eas regiones excitatis, aut insidiis alicubi rectorem perimeret si cui ferret auxilium, aut si latrocinia neglegeret, ob hoc eum apud indigenas accusaret. Jamdudum autem rumores dissipaverat, quod res Galilææ Josephus Romanis prodere cogitaret ; multaque in hunc modum ad ejus perniciem comparabat. |
While he had long pictured himself as general or something greater still, the shortage of money kept him down. When he saw that Josephus was delighted with his energy, he first persuaded him to entrust him with the responsibility for rebuilding the walls of his home town, thereby enriching himself at the expense of the well-to-do. Next he contrived a sophisticated ruse. On the pretext that all the Jews in Syria were averse to using oil not produced by their own people, he procured the right to deliver it to them at the frontier. Then, buying four amphoras of it for Tyrian currency worth four Attic drachmas, he would sell half an amphora for that same amount. As Galilee is prolific in olives and at was overflowing with a rich harvest that season, John, as the only one shipping — and large amounts — to where there was a dearth, amassed untold wealth, which he promptly used against the man who had given him that windfall. Figuring that if he brought Josephus down he would himself become master of Galilee, he ordered the members of his gang to put still more vigor into their raids so that, with many people in turmoil due to revolution in those parts, if the governor went to rescue anyone, he could ambush and kill him somewhere, or if he failed to deal with the gang, he could be slandered to the people of the country. Finally, he had long been spreading a rumor that Josephus was intending to betray Galilee to the Romans, and was devising many similar expedients to bring him down. |
| 3 |
| Itaque illo tempore, quum quidam ex vico Dabaritarum, in Magno Campo custodias agentes, Ptolemæum, Agrippæ et Berenices procuratorem, aggressi, omnes quas ferebat sarcinas abstulissent, in quibus erant non paucæ vestes pretiosæ, plurimaque argentea pocula, et DC• aurei, neque hanc prædam occulte administrare potuissent, omnia Tarichæas ad Josephum comportarunt. Ille autem, reprehensa violentia quam regiis intulissent, reponi res ablatas apud aliquem ejus civitatis potentissimum jubet, paratus eas dominis opportune remittere. Unde maximum ei periculum comparatum est. Namque raptores earum, quia prædæ nullam partem accepissent, ægre ferentes, et perspicientes quod Josephus cogitaverat laborem suum regibus condonare, per vicos nocte discurrunt, omnibusque prædĭcant Josephum proditorem esse ; eodemque tumultu civitates proximas repleverunt, adeo ut C• armatorum milia contra Josephum prima luce concurrerent. |
At this time some men from the village of Dabarittha, members of the guard stationed in the Great Plain, waylaid Ptolemy, comptroller of Agrippa and Berenice, and robbed him of all his baggage, which included a large quantity of expensive clothing, a number of silver goblets and six hundred gold coins. Unable to dispose of the loot secretly, they brought it all to Josephus at Tarichææ. He condemned their violence to the king’s servants, and ordered the stolen goods deposited with a powerful citizen of Tarichææ, Annæus, intending to take the first opportunity of restoring them to their owners. This was a most dangerous thing for him to do; for the robbers, sore at receiving no share of the loot and, realizing that Josephus meant to present the king and queen with the fruits of their labors, they hurried off to the villages at night and denounced Josephus to everyone as a traitor. They further filled the neighboring cities with the same uproar, so that when day broke 100,000 armed men gathered to attack him. |
| Denique multitudo quidem, in circo apud Tarichæas congregata, plurima per iracundiam conclamabat, partim deponi, partim concremari vociferans proditorem ; plerosque autem incitabat Joannes, et cum eo Jesus quidam Sapphæ filius, tunc magistratus Tiberiadis. Josephi igitur amici et satellites, tantæ multitudinis incursu perterriti, omnes præter quattuor diffugerunt. Ipse vero dormiens, prope quum jam ignis admoveretur exurgit ; et monentibus eum quattuor qui remanserant ut fugeret, neque solitudine sua, neque illorum qui contra se venerant copiis perturbatus, in conspectum illorum prosilit, veste discissa, infusoque capiti pulvere, aversisque post tergum manibus, suoque cervici gladio annexo. Hæc autem amicos et maxime Taricheas ad misericordiam commoverant. Rustica vero plebs, et finitimorum quibus molestior videbatur, non sine maledictis eum jubebant publicas proferre pecunias, et facta proditionis fateri. Nam ex habitu ejus opinabantur nihil eorum de quibus nata fuerat suspicio, penitus negaturum, et impetrandæ veniæ causa fecisse omnia quæ misericordiam provocarent. |
The crowd packed the circus at Tarichææ and filled the air with yells of rage, some clamoring to depose the “traitor,” others to burn him alive. Most were whipped up by John, backed by Jesus, son of Sapphas, then governor of Tiberias. The friends and bodyguard of Josephus, terrified by the huge crowd out for blood, fled with the exception of four men. He himself was asleep and did not wake till the house was on the point of being set on fire. The four who had remained urged him to flee but, though he saw himself alone in the midst of a hostile mob, he showed no trace of fear. He sprang foward, his clothes rent and his head sprinkled with ashes, his hands behind him and his sword tied to his neck. Seeing this, his friends, especially the Tarichæans, were sorry for him, but the country folk and those from the neighborhood who resented his rule heaped abuse on him, insisting that he should instantly produce the public money and admit his compact to betray them. For they had gathered from his appearance that he would not deny any of the things they suspected, and that it was in order to obtain pardon that he had done everything to excite their pity. |
| At illius ista humilitas consilium præstruebat, et contra se indignantes arte circumveniens, ut super his, unde irascerentur, inter se ipsi discordarent, omnia confessurum se pollicetur. Deinde sibi loquendi facultate concessa, « Ego », inquit, « has pecunias neque Agrippæ remittere cogitabam, neque in propria lucra convertere. Absit enim, ut amicum putem unquam qui vobis sit inimicus, aut quæstum ex re capiam, quæ vos communiter læderet. Sed quia videbam, o Taricheatæ, maxime civitatem vestram munitionis egere, et ad exstruenda mœnia minus habere pecuniæ, timebamque Tiberiensem populum, et alias civitates raptis pecuniis inhiantes, pedetentim eas retinere decrevi, ut vos muro circumdarem. Si hoc non videtur, profero quæ ablata sunt et diripienda propono. Sin recte consului, bene de vobis meritum coërcetis. » |
But this self-abasement of his was only a front for a stratagem in which he promised to confess everything, so that he would cunningly induce his enraged critics to quarrel among themselves about the things they were mad about. When he was finally given leave to speak he began: “I had no intention of either returning the money to Agrippa or of lining my own pockets. I trust I shall never treat your enemy as my friend or turn your country’s loss to private gain. But I saw that your city of Tarichææ in particular stood in need of fortifications, and that it had less money for building its walls, and I feared the people of Tiberias and other towns who were lusting for the looted money, so I decided to keep the money carefully in order to surround you with a wall. If you are not satisfied, I will produce what was brought to me and give it to you to divide as spoils. But if I have given good advice, you are punishing a man who has done well by you.” |
| 4 |
| Hæc Taricheatæ quidem ab eo dicta cum favore receperunt, Tiberienses vero cum aliis depravando, insuper etiam minitabantur, utrique autem, relicto Josepho, inter se litigabant. Ille autem fretus jam secum sentientibus (erant enim prope ad XL• milia Taricheatæ) cum multitudine liberius loquebatur. Multumque in eorum temeritatem invectus, ex præsenti quidem pecunia Taricheam ait esse muniendam. Curæ autem sibi fore similiter ut etiam ceteræ tutæ sint civitates, nec enim pecunias defore, si concordari velint in eos unde parandæ sunt, et non in eum moveantur qui parat. |
On hearing this the Taricheans expressed their approval, but the people of Tiberias and elsewhere yelled abuse and threats. Then both parties let Josephus alone and argued with each other while he, confident of his new supporters — nearly 40,000 Tarichæans — proceeded to address the whole throng in bolder terms. He condemned their headstrong behavior in no uncertain fashion, and then declared that with the money in hand he would fortify Tarichææ and provide equal security for the other cities as well. There would be no lack of funds if only they decided to be in alliance against those from whom the money was to be gotten, and not attack the man who was getting it. |
| 5 |
| Itaque tum alia quidem multitudo quæ decepta fuerat, quamvis irata, recedebat ; duo vero armatorum milia impetum in eum fecere. Quumque se ille tecto ante recepisset, instabant ei minitantes. Iterum autem Josephus in hos quoque altera fraude utitur. Quumque in summum tectum evasisset, compresso dextera strepitu, nescire ait se, quid peterent sibi præstari ; voces enim se non exaudire confusas. Omnia vero quæ juberent esse facturum, si aliquos intromisissent qui secum otiose colloquerentur. His auditis, ilico nobiliores cum magistratibus ad eum ingrediuntur. Quos ille in intimas ædium partes inductos, clausa janua tamdiu verberavit, quoad omnium viscera nudata sunt. Circumstabat autem interim populus, existimans eos prolixis allegationibus concertare, quum subito Josephus foribus patefactis, cruentos eos dimisit. Unde tanto terrore qui minabantur affecti sunt ut projectis armis aufugerent. |
At this the bulk of the deluded crowd withdrew, though still very angry; but 2,000 men rushed at him, weapons in hand, and though he had first gotten back into the house, they stood around shouting threats. Josephus resorted to a different ruse against them. He went up on the roof, silenced them with a gesture and declared that he did not know what they wanted to be given to themselves, as he could not hear amidst such confusion. But he would do whatever they demanded if they would send in a delegation to talk things over with him quietly. On hearing this, the leading men and the magistrates came in. Josephus then led them into the inmost recesses of the house, shut the outer door and flogged them all until their innards were exposed. Meanwhile the mob waited outside, thinking the delegates were arguing their case at length. But Josephus suddenly flung open the doors and pushed the men out covered with blood, striking such terror into the threatening crowd that they threw down their weapons and fled. |
| 6 |
| Ob hæc Joannis etiam atque etiam crescebat invidia, aliasque nihilominus Josepho moliebatur insidias ; morboque simulato per epistolam postulavit, ut sibi medicinæ gratia Tiberiensibus aquis calidis uti permitteret. Josephus autem, quia nondum ei suspectus erat insidiator, ad præfectos civitatis litteras fecit, ut et hospitium et utensilia Joanni præberent. Quibus ille potitus, biduo post cujus rei causa venerat agebat ; et his fraude circumventis, aliis vero pecunia corruptis, ut Josephum desererent persuasit. His autem cognitis, Silas, quem Josephus custodiæ præposuerat, propere de insidiis ei scripsit ; atque ille, accepta epistola noctuque itinere maturato, matutinus ad Tiberiadem pervenit. Et cetera quidem multitudo obviam ei processit. |
These things made John more jealous still, but he nonetheless engineered a second plot against Josephus. Feigning sickness, he sent a letter begging his permission to seek a cure by taking the hot baths at Tiberias. Since Josephus still did not suspect the plotter, he wrote to the city leaders to accommodate John and provide him with everything necessary. John made use of the facilities, and two days later was working on the reason for his coming. Deceiving some through fraud and bribing others, he persuaded the people to revolt from Josephus. Learning of this, Silas, whom Josephus had appointed guardian of the city, quickly wrote him about the plot. On receiving the letter, Josephus made a swift night march and reached Tiberias at dawn where, in sum, the rest of the population came out to meet him. |
| Joannes autem, quamvis eum contra se venturum esse suspicaretur, tamen misso quodam ex notis, infirmitate simulata, quod lectulo detineretur, obsequio sese defuisse mandavit. Tiberiensibus autem a Josepho in stadium congregatis ut ad eos quæ sibi scripta fuerant loqueretur, missis armatis Joannes jussit eum interfici. Quos quum jam nudare gladios perspexisset, populus exclamavit ; atque ita conversus ad ejus vocem Josephus, ubi ferrum prope jugulo suo imminere prospexit, in litus desiliit e tumulo, excelso cubitis sex, in quo verba faciens cum populo steterat ; ascensaque inde navicula, cum duobus satellitibus suis, quæ illuc applicuerat, in medium lacum refugit. |
As for John, although he suspected that Josephus had come to oppose him, nevertheless, pretending sickness, he sent one of his acquaintances to say that, because he was confined to bed he could not pay his respects. But when Josephus had collected the citizens in the stadium and was trying to tell them about the report he had received, John sent armed men with orders to assassinate him. The people, seeing them bare their swords, yelled out. At the shout, Josephus swung around and, seeing the metal close to his throat, jumped onto the beach from the nine-foot-high mound on which he had been standing while talking to the people and, climbing from there into a boat moored there, made a dash for the middle of the lake with two members of his bodyguard. |
| 7 |
| Milites vero ejus, ilico raptis armis, contra insidiatores irruebant. Mox autem veritus Josephus ne, bello intestino concitato, propter paucorum invidiam civitas consumetur, nuntium suis misit, qui eos moneret ut propriæ tantum saluti consulerent, neque vero quemquam vel occiderent, vel arguerent noxiorum. Et illi quidem dicto parentes, conquieverunt. Qui vero circum civitatem per agros habitabant, auditis insidiis, et quis earum fabricator esset, contra Joannem veniebat. Sed ille prius in Gischala patriam suam fuga receptus est. |
His soldiers instantly seized their weapons and charged the conspirators. Then Josephus, fearing that if civil war broke out through the jealousy of a few the city would be ruined, sent a messenger to his men to tell them that they were only to see to their own safety, and neither kill anybody nor accuse any of the culpable. In obedience to this injunction the soldiers quieted down; but when the people of the neighborhood learnt of the plot and of the person responsible, they massed together to deal with John. He, however, slipped away in time and fled to Gischala, his home town. |
| At Galilæi totis jam civitatibus ad Josephum confluebant, et quum multa essent armatorum milia congregata qui se adversus Joannem communem insidiatorem adesse clamabant unaque cum eo civitatem quæ illum suscepisset, ignibus tradituros. Ad ea Josephus, probare se quidem eorum benevolentiam, impetum autem cohibendum esse dicebat, prudentia magis inimicos vincere cupiens quam perimere. His vero qui de singulis civitatibus cum Joanne rebellassent nominatim exceptis — quippe alacri animo suos quisque populus indicabat —, præconum voce denuntiabat, intra quinque dies eorum qui Joannem non reliquissent, patrimonia diripienda, domosque eorum cum familiis exurendas. Et tria quidem milia statim ab eo revocavit, qui profugi ante pedes ejus arma projecerunt. Cum reliquis autem Joannes prope mille Syris fugitivis, transtulit se iterum in occultas insidias ex apertis, ac per nuntios in Hierosolymam clam missos, Josephum accusabat, quod magnum exercitum collegisset, jamque nisi præveniatur vi, tyrannus metropoleos venturus esset. |
The Galileans streamed to Joseph from every town, and when many thousands of armed men had gathered, they roared that they were there to fight against John, their common enemy, and that they were going to burn him alive together with the city that had accepted him. Josephus expressed his appreciation of their loyalty but said that they should restrain their aggressiveness, choosing to outwit his enemies rather than to kill them. He then found out the names of those who had rebelled with John from the individual cities — their fellow-citizens being delighted to give the information —, and announced through public heralds that anyone who failed to abandon John in the next five days would have his property seized and his house burnt together with his family. He thereby immediately pulled 3,000 away from him, men who fled to Josephus and threw down their weapons at his feet. With the rest — about 1,000 Syrian fugitives — John again switched to secret plots, abandoning open hostilities. He sent messengers to Jerusalem by stealth to accuse Josephus of having amassed a huge army, and that unless he were headed off by force he would come in as dictator over the Capital itself. |
| Verum ea populus quidem præsciens neglegebat, livore autem potentes nonnullique magistratuum clam pecunias ad comparandos mercennarios milites misere Joanni, ut per eos bellum cum Josepho gereret. Decretumque inter se conceperunt quo idem Josephus militum administratione decederet ; non tamen id satis esse credebant, ideoque duo milia et D• armatos, et IV• miserunt nobiles viros, jurisperiti filium Joazarum, et Ananiam Sadducæum, et Simonem et Judam Jonathæ filios, omnes eloquentia validissimos, ut eorum scilicet monitu averteretur ab Josepho benevolentia multitudinis ; et siquidem ipse sponte sua veniret, paterentur eum rationem reddere ; sin remanere contenderet, pro hoste haberent. Amici autem Josepho militem quidem ad eum venturum esse perscripserunt, causam vero non indicaverunt, quoniam secretum fuit inimicorum ejus consilium ; unde factum est, ut quia præcavere non potuit, quattuor statim civitates ad inimicos transirent — hoc est, Sepphoris, et Gabara, et Gischala, et Tiberias — quas tamen continuo sine armis recepit. Captos autem quattuor duces consiliis armatorumque fortissimos, remisit Hierosolymam, contra quos populus haud mediocri indignatione commotus et ipsos, et a quibus præmissi fuerant, interfecisset, nisi ante fugissent. |
The people, knowing about this ahead of time, took no notice; but leading citizens, including some of the magistrates, were moved by jealousy to send money secretly to John, so that he could raise a force of mercenaries and make war on Josephus. They further issued a decree on their own authority recalling him from his command; but as they still did not think this enough, they dispatched 2,500 armed men with four distinguished citizens — Joazar son of a lawyer, Ananias the Sadducee, and Simon and Jude, sons of Jonathan —, all gifted speakers, so that through their exhortation the good will of the people might be drawn away from Josephus. If he came voluntarily, they would let him give an account of himself; if he insisted on remaining, they would treat him as an enemy. Josephus’s friends wrote him that an army was on the way to him, but the reason was not explained, as his enemies had taken their decision in secret. The result was that he took no countermeasures, and four towns promptly went over to the other side: Sepphoris, Gabara, Gischala and Tiberias. But he quickly recovered these without the use of force, and then by stratagems got the four commanders and their best soldiers into his hands and sent them back to Jerusalem. They met with a most hostile reception from the people, who would have killed them and those who had sent them out, had they not immediately fled. |
| 8 |
— Caput B-27 —
Tiberias a Josepho recuperatur, et Sepphoris. |
| Joannem vero jam intra muros Gischalæ Josephi timor custodiebat. Et paucis diebus post iterum rebellavit Tiberias, habitatoribus Agrippam regem vocantibus. Et quum ille constituto die ad eos non venisset, paucique Romani equites ibi tum comparuissent, a Josepho defecerunt. Hisque apud Taricheas cognitis Josephus, qui milites frumentatum miserat, neque solus egredi contra desertores neque se continere patiebatur, metuens ne dum ipse tardaret, regii civitatem occuparent (nec enim postero die, obstante Sabbato, quicquam facere poterat). Itaque dolo eos qui se deseruerant circumvenire cogitabat. Et portas quidem Tarichearum claudi jussit, ne quis consilium suum illis proderet contra quos suscipiebatur. Omnibus autem scaphis quas in lacu comperit congregatis (ducentæ autem et XXX• fuerunt, quaternique nautæ non amplius singulis inerant) mature ad Tiberiadem navigat. Quumque tanto ab eo distaret spatio, unde facile videri non posset, inanibus scaphis in salo relictis, septem ipse solos armati satellites secum habens, propius ut conspiceretur accessit. Quem quum inimici adhuc maledicentes ei ex muro conspexissent, metu perterriti, et scaphas armatorum esse plenas existimantes, arma projiciunt ; manusque supplices agitantes, ut civitati parceret precabantur. |
From that time on John was kept within the walls of Gischala by fear of Josephus. A few days later Tiberias again revolted, the citizens having called in King Agrippa. While Agrippa failed to arrive on the appointed date, a few Roman cavalry did appear there then and the inhabitants defected from Josephus. He was at Tarichææ, where he was promptly informed of this revolt; but he had sent out all his soldiers in search of food, and could neither take the field alone against the rebels nor remain inactive, for fear that while he himself delayed the royal troops might take over the city before him. Furthermore he would be unable to make any move on the next day owing to the Sabbath restrictions. However, he thought of a ruse to circumvent the rebels. He ordered the gates of Tarichææ to be shut, to prevent anyone from betraying his plan to those he was planning to attack; then he collected all the boats there were on the lake — two hundred and thirty, with not more than four sailors in each — and made at full speed for Tiberias. He kept far enough from the city to make clear vision impossible, leaving the vessels to ride in deep water unmanned, while he himself with only seven armed guards went near enough to be seen. On sighting him from the walls the opponents, still vilifying him, were struck with fear, assuming all the craft were packed with armed men, flung down their weapons and, waving their arms in surrender, begged him to spare the city. |
| 9 |
| Josephus autem, postquam multis eos minis et exprobrationibus castigavit, primum quod, bello contra populum Romanum suscepto, intestinis dissensionibus vires suas ante consumerent, inimicorumque vota complerent ; deinde, quod securitatis suæ curatorem de medio tollere properarent, civitatemque non erubescerent sibi claudere, qui eam muro cinxisset ; non repudiaturum se ait, si qui sibi satisfacerent, quibus intervenientibus amicitiam cum civitate firmaret. Itaque statim ad eum decem Tiberiensium potentissimi descenderunt. His autem in unam receptis naviculam piscatoriam, et procul abductis, alios L• senatores venire jussit, maxime nobiles, velut illi quoque fidem sibi præbere deberent. Deinde novas causationes excogitans, alios insuper atque alios obtentu fœderis evocabat ; utque mature Taricheas recurrerent, gubernatoribus navium repletarum imperabat, quosque avexissent in carcerem collocarent, donec omnem Curiam, quæ DC• haberet viros, duoque milia popularium comprehensa in Tarichæas scaphis abduxit. |
Josephus gave vent to threats and reproaches. First, after taking up arms against Rome, they were dissipating their own strength beforehand in civil strife and so fulfilling their enemies’ wishes; secondly, they were striving to get rid of the guardian of their own security, and were not ashamed to close their city to the man who had built the wall around it. He said he would not reject them if there were those who would make amends to him and through whose intercession he might make sure of the alliance with the city. Ten citizens at once came down, the most important men in Tiberias. These he took on board one of the fishing vessels and carried them far out; he ordered fifty other senators to come forth, leading citizens, on the ground that they too needed to pledge their loyalty to him. Then, by inventing one pretense after another, he called out group after group on the pretext of treaty negotiations. As the boats were filled he ordered their captains to make with all speed for Tarichææ and to clap the men into prison. In this way the whole council, 600 strong, and about 2,000 private citizens were arrested and conveyed in boats to Tarichææ. |
| 10 |
| Reliquis autem vociferantibus Clitum quendam esse præcipuum defectionis auctorem, iramque ipsius pœna illius precantibus satiari, nullum quidem Josephus, volebat occidere ; suorum vero satellitum quendam Leviam egredi jussit, qui Cliti manus abscinderet. Quum vero is præ timore solum se globo inimicorum commissurum negaret, eaque causa indignari Josephum stantem in scapha videret, ipsumque velle descendere, ac de se supplicium sumere, ut saltem unam manum sibi concederet, orabat. Neque hoc abnuente Josepho, dummodo alteram sibimet Clitus ipse præcideret, educto ille dextera gladio, lævam sibi truncavit, tantus eum timor Josephi invaserat. Ita tunc Josephus, vacuis scaphis et satellitibus VII• populo capto, rursus Tiberiadem sibi sociavit. Paucis autem diebus post, Gischalam, quæ cum Sepphoritis defecerat, militibus deprædari permisit ; omnemque prædam conquisitam popularibus reddidit. Similiter etiam Sepphoritis et Tiberiensibus. Nam et hos captos rapinarum damno corrigere voluit, et redhibitione rerum rursus eos ad benevolentiam revocare. |
The remainder shouted that the real author of the revolt was one Clitus, and urged Josephus to sate his wrath by punishing him. Josephus wanted to put no one to death; so he ordered Levi, one of his guards, to step ashore and cut off Clitus’ hands. The soldier, taking fright, refused to go alone into the hostile crowd. Clitus, seeing Joseph enraged because of this, standing in the boat and about to get out and carry out the sentence on him, begged him to leave him at least one hand. Josephus agreed, on condition that he cut off the other himself, whereupon Clitus drew his sword with his right hand and cut off his left: so completely had Josephus terrified him. Thus with unmanned boats and seven guards he made the whole population prisoner and reunited Tiberias to himself. But a few days later Josephus allowed his soldiers to pillage Gischala, which had defected along with the Sepphorians. However he collected all the plunder and gave it back to the townspeople. He did the same with the Sepphorians and Tiberiadians; for he wanted to teach a lesson to these conquered people by inflicting a loss on them, yet by returning their things reinstate their friendliness. |
|
| ⇑ § XXII |
Judæi intenti bellicis
instrumentis conficiendis.
Simon Gioræ filius
ad rapinas se converit. | The Jews make all ready for the war ; and Simon, the son of Gioras, falls to plundering. |
| 1 |
— Caput B-28 —
Quomodo Hierosolymitæ bello se præparaverint : deque Simonis Gioræ tyrannide. |
| Hactenus apud Galilæam motus erat, jamque ab intestinis dissensionibus quiescentes, adversus Romanos instruebantur. Hierosolymis autem Ananus pontifex, et potentiores qui non cum Romanorum parte sentirent, muros instaurare properabant ; multaque bellica instrumenta, perque omne Oppidum, sagittæ aliaque arma fabricantur ; et exercitationibus jussis manus juvenum operam dabat. Erantque universa plena tumultus, magnaque tristitia moderatos occupaverat ; multique, futuras clades prospicientes, fletum cohibere non poterant ; infestaque pacem cupientibus omina videbantur, belli autem incentoribus quæ illis placerent, ex tempore fingebantur ; statusque jam tunc quasi perituræ Civitatis erat, antequam Romani venirent. Anano autem apparatum belli omittere cura fuit, et seditiosorum quos Zelotas vocabant amentiam ad utiliora convertere. Qui tamen victus est ; et quis illius finis fuerit, in posterioribus explanabimus. |
In Galilee the rebellion was at an end and, with people now quieting down from internal dissension, they started being geared up against the Romans. In Jerusalem Ananus the pontiff and all the leading men who did not favor Rome were hurrying to repair the walls. And great many war machines and, all over the City, arrows and other weapons were manufactured; bands of young men were working hard under disciplined training. There was tumult everywhere. Moreover, deep depression had overcome those who were self-controlled: many saw only too well the approaching calamity and could not keep from weeping. There were omens too, which to the peace-lovers portended disaster, but for which the instigators of war contrived impromptu explanations which pleased them. In fact the atmosphere was that of a doomed City even before the Romans came. Ananus’ concern, in contrast, was how to abandon the preparations for war and turn the madness of the insurgents called “Zealots” to more constructive activity. But he was defeated, and his tragic end will be related below. |
| 2 |
| At in Acrabatena toparchia, Gioræ filius Simon, multis novarum rerum cupidis congregatis, ad rapinas conversus, non solum in domos locupletum irrumpebat, verum etiam corpora verberibus conficiebat ; jamque tunc palam tyrannidem inceptabat. Ab Anano autem missis adversus eum militibus magistratuum, ad latrones qui erant Masadæ, cum his quos habebat effugit, ibique manens donec Ananus et alii ejus inimici perempti sunt, Idumæam cum ceteris populabatur, adeo, ut magistratus ejus gentis, propter cædium multitudinem et prædarum assiduitatem, collecto milite, vicos præsidiis tuerentur. Et Judæorum quidem res ita habebant. |
Finally, in the prefecture of Acrabata, Simon, son of Gioras, collected a large band of revolutionaries and turned to pillaging. He not only looted the houses of the rich, but physically maltreated them with beatings; and it was evident from the start that his aim was despotism. When soldiers of the magistrates were sent against him by Ananus, he fled with his followers to the outlaws at Masada. Remaining there until the death of Ananus and his other enemies, with others he pillaged Idumæa to the point where, due to the slaughter of great numbers and the constancy of the raids, the authorities of that folk mustered an army and garrisoned the villages. And that, indeed, was the situation of the Jews. |
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