favour of the Romans were so great, that they soon became masters of the mountain, which they instantly surrounded; and, in resentment of their former unsuccessful attack, they put to the sword all who fell in their way, the unresisting, as well as their immediate opponents. Some were so driven to despair by the horror of their situation, that they threw themselves, with their wives and children, down the precipice from the castle; and in this way about five thousand perished, while only four thousand were slain; so that a greater number of the Jews were sacrificed to their own fears than were destroyed by the Romans. The latter, however, in the fury of their rage, threw the very infants down the rocks; nor shewed mercy to a single person they seized, except the two daughters of the sister of Philip, the friend of Joakim, a man of distinction, and heretofore one of Agrippa's generals.

Giscala did not make any long resistance; for the inhabitants in general were disposed for peace, most of them being husbandmen, and therefore desirous to preserve their farms from ruin: yet there were some among them who were less peaceably disposed, at the head of whom was John, an artful and enterprizing man, who was devoid of all honour, and fond of promoting disturbances for the advancement of his own interest. This man, finding that the citizens were determined to surrender, escaped with his followers in the night, and advanced by rapid marches to Jerusalem. The reduction of Giscala put a final period to the war in Galilee.

The Jewish nation were now divided into two very opposite parties: the one, foreseeing that the war, if continued, would produce the ruin of their country, were desirous to end it by a speedy submission to the Romans: the other, who imbibed the principles of the Gaulonitish faction, delighted in nothing but havoc, spoil, and murder, and opposed all peaceable measures with an invincible obstinacy. This latter party, which was by far the most numerous and powerful, consisted of the vilest and most profligate characters, proud, cruel, and rapacious; but, at the same time, addicted to hypocrisy, they committed the most atrocious wickedness under the pretence of religion. In order to cut off every hope of accommodation, they had bound themselves by a solemn oath never to lay down their arms till they had either extirpated all foreign authority, or perished in the attempt. The contrary party opposed them with arms, but were found unequal in the conflict, and suffered more from their countrymen than even from the exasperated Romans. Not only the same cities, but even the same villages and houses were frequently occupied by persons belonging to the different factions; so that the horrors of civil war were extended throughout every part of the country which had not yet been subdued by the enemy.

The zealots began to exercise their cruelty in robbing and murdering all that opposed them in the surrounding country, after which they easily entered Jerusalem with Zechariah and Eleazer at their head. Here they were at first strenuously opposed by the late high-priest Ananus, whose zeal upon this occasion Josephus highly commends. He made a pathetic speech to the people, exhorting them to take up arms against those abandoned men, who had by this time seized upon the temple, and converted it into a place of defence, from which they sallied forth to commit the vilest outrages and butcheries. They followed his advice, armed themselves without delay, and, returning in great force, made a vigorous attack upon the zealots. The engagement was on both sides fierce and bloody, and lasted a considerable time. At length Ananus forced them from the outer cincture of the temple, and closely besieged them in the interior parts of the sacred edifice, where he kept them closely besieged, and would probably soon have reduced them, had it not been, for the treachery of John of Giscala. He had found means to insinuate himself into the favour of the moderate

party, who deputed him as an ambassador to offer the zealots terms of accommodation, instead of which he persuaded them to hold out, and to call in the Idumeans to their assistance.

2

The Idumeans readily accepted the invitation, and marched, to the number of about twenty thousand, to the vicinity of Jerusalem. Here they found the gates shut against them, and therefore encamped on the outside of the walls. As the next night proved. exceedingly tempestuous, the moderate party relaxed in their vigilance, and thus afforded an opportunity to the zealots, who were besieged in the temple, silently to unbar the temple gates, and, passing unperceived through the city, to open such of the city gates as were nearest to the camp of the Idumeans. The Idumeans now rushed in, and immediately proceeding to the temple, united with the zealots in an attack upon the guards, many of whom they killed while sleeping, and others while they were endeavouring to seize their arms. A short and dreadful contest ensued; for when it was known that the Idumeans were in possession of the place, all resistance was given over. In every street was heard the most fearful exclamations, while the women shrieked aloud for the loss of their protectors; and the violence of the thunder and winds, and the shouts of the zealots and Idumeans, rendered those clamours still more horrible. In the mean time, the natural rage and ferocity of the Idumeans were increased to such a degree, by the idea of their being excluded from the city in such extremity of weather, that they spared no one, whether armed or kneeling to beg their lives. The pleas of consanguinity and religion were equally made in vain a speedy death ensued; and such was their situation, that they could neither fight nor fly. Even the fear of death combined with the rage of the enemy to accelerate their fate; for they pressed on each other with such vehemence, that it was impossible for any of them to retire; so that their very situation was such, that their enemies dealt death among them at every blow. Distracted by their unfortunate position, some of them sought one death to avoid another; and, in their despair, threw themselves from a precipice. In a word, the whole temple was surrounded with streams of blood; and when day-light came, it was judged that eight thousand five hundred persons lay dead on the spot.

However, the insatiate appetite of the Idumeans for blood was by no means appeased; for, turning their rage against the city, they plundered all the houses, and sacrificed most of the inhabitants they met with: but they were not so intent on the destruction of the common people as on wreaking their vengeance on the high-priests, whom they no sooner found than they beheaded them, and trampled on their bodies, insulting that of Jesus on account of the speech he had made from the walls, and that of Ananus on account of his influence with the people. Nay, to such a height had their impiety arisen, that they denied them the common rites of sepulture, though the laws of the Jews, from reverence for the deceased, have provided that even crucified criminals should be taken down and interred before the setting of the sun.

The cruel murder of Ananus and Jesus was no sooner effected, than the zealots and Idumeans began to exercise the most horrid barbarities on the common people, whom they destroyed without mercy as fast as they could seize them; but persons of distinction, and particularly such as were in. full health and vigour, they kept in prison, in the hope that they would purchase their lives by coming over to their party; but this they refused to do, and every man of them died rather than combine with the traitors. Their death, however, was made additionally dreadful by aggravated torments. When they had been whipped till their bodies were ulcerated, the period of their existence was finished by the sword. Those who were apprehended during the day-time were crowded into prisons at night: as fast as they died, their bodies

were thrown out to make room for other wretched tenants, who were treated with similar barbarity. The people were so terrified by these horrid proceedings, that they did not even dare to shed a tear or heave a sigh for the loss of their friends, nor even to bury their nearest relations. Nay, they were afraid even to weep or complain in their own houses or chambers, without first making a diligent search lest there should be any listeners; since any marks of compassion for the deceased would have been punished with death, so criminal was it deemed to possess the feelings of humanity. Sometimes, indeed, they would throw a handful of earth on a dead body during the night, and a few persons were bold enough to do this during the day-time. No less than twelve thousand persons of some rank fell a sacrifice to this rage of party.

The Idumeans at length so strongly condemned this indiscriminate massacre, that the zealots thought proper to set up a kind of tribunal, who should decide upon the fate of those who were brought before them. Zechariah, the son of Baruch, was one of the first who was brought before this mock court, which consisted of seventy-two persons. They brought a long catalogue of heinous crimes to his charge, which he not only repelled with the greatest ease, but so strongly represented their own crimes, that they were struck with a sense of guilt, and pronounced him innocent. The zealots upon this immediately murdered him, and expelled his judges from their seats as unfit for their purpose. The Idumeans were so shocked at their conduct, that they returned home, and left their allies to carry on the war alone.

By this time John of Gischala had swelled his ambitious views to such a degree, that he even aspired to the sovereign power, though, in fact, he had for a long time entertained an idea of this kind: wherefore, insensibly withdrawing himself from the company of his old associates, he gradually engaged in his interest a number of abandoned miscreants, and formed a resolution of embarking on his own foundation. It was a distinguished feature of the character of this man to impose his order in an authoritative manner on others, and to treat their opinions with the most sovereign degree of contempt and this he practised as the probable means of attaining the supreme authority. Some of his new adherents joined him through a principle of fear, and others from the motives of esteem and regard; for he had the art of moving the affections, and was fluent in words to a very eminent degree. Some of his followers consulted their own security in their adherence to him, imagining, or hoping at least, that whenever a scrutiny should be made into their former evil proceedings, they would, in the gross, be attributed to him, as the first inciter of the irregularities. Many of the martial part of his followers adhered to him on account of his abilities and manly resolution; while numbers of others receded from him through consideration of his pride, and disdained to submit to the authority of him who had lately been their professed enemy. But the circumstance that had more influence on them than any other, was the aversion they had to be governed by any single person; and the idea that if he once became possessed of unlimited power, it would not be an easy matter to deprive him of it; and they also thought that those who should oppose his first pretensions could have no reason to hope for his future favour. Having deliberated on these matters, the people came to a resolution rather to abide all the perilous events of war, than to submit to what they thought would be constructed into a voluntary slavery. After this determination the faction divided themselves into zealots and antizealots. John putting himself at the head of the latter. These parties now opposed each other, and some trifling skirmishes ensued; but these skirmishes were directed more against the people than against each other; for the view of each party was to obtain the principal share of the booty by the exclusion of the other.

At this period, the city of Jerusalem was oppressed by the aggravated misfortunes

of war, tyranny, and sedition. The populace, imagining that war was the most insupportable of all calamities, fled from their habitations to seek for protection among strangers; and afterwards found that the protection which they could not obtain from each other was to be met with among the Romans.

A fourth misfortune, not less destructive to the Jews than any of the former, im mediately succeeded them. Within a small distance from Jerusalem was situated the castle of Massada, which was equally celebrated for its antiquity, strength, and magnificence. It had been erected by the antient Jewish kings, who considered it as a royal treasury, a magazine for all the implements and necessaries of war, and a retreat which might be safely used in cases of imminent danger. At this time it was in possession of a set of abandoned miscreants called the Sicarii, whose numbers were sufficient to have totally destroyed and ravaged the country, though the acts they had hitherto done were the effects of surprize and treachery. At this period, it happened that the Roman army was lying in absolute inaction, while the Jews, divided among themselves, were distressing each other by every possible means ; and, on this occasion, the assassins made a more vigorous attempt than ever they had done before. The feast of unleavened bread now came on; a festival that is celebrated by the Jews in the most solemn manner, in commemoration of their deliverance from the slavery they had undergone in Egypt, and their being conducted safely to the land of promise. On the night of this festival the insurgents surprised the town of Engaddi, into which they entered, and conquered the people before they had even time to have recourse to their arms. They drove them furiously out of the town, and, in the pursuit, killed above seven hundred of them, the majority of whom were women and children: they then stripped their houses, and made plunder of all the ripe and seasonable fruits they could find, which they carried to Massada; in their way to which place, they, in like manner, depopulated the towns, villages, and castles, and laid waste the country. A multitude of abandoned people constantly coming in to join these depredators, their numbers were daily increased. Till this period. Judea had remained in ease and quiet; but on this irruption, the whole country became the scene of every kind of violence, and every species of irregularity. As it is in the natural body, so it is when seditions prevail in a city; when the more noble parts are effected, the calamity has an influence on all the rest. In the capital, when a part is disordered, the adjacencies consent to the contamination, and suffer through the force of example. When the parties above-mentioned had acquired all the plunder they could, they retired therewith into desert places, where they associated together, such numbers of the depredators joining their forces, that they had the appearance of considerable armies sufficient to destroy cities and lay temples waste. It is reasonable to suppose that the injured parties took every possible opportunity of revenge, when they could meet with those who had insulted them; but this happened but very seldom; for the robbers were generally so diligent as to escape with their booty before their pursuers could come up with them. On the whole, so calamitous was the situation of affairs, that every part of Judea felt a share of the distress with which the principal city was affected.

All the avenues were guarded with so much strictness and precaution by the factious party, that not a single person could stir without imminent danger of his life: yet, notwithstanding this vigilant and rigorous precaution, many persons found means to desert daily, who gave Vespasian an account of the situation of the place, and intreated his assistance to relieve such as yet remained in the city; representing that their attachanent to the Romans had already cost many of the citizens theis lives, and that many more were in danger of sharing a like fate from similar motives. Vespasian, concerned for the unhappy situation of the inhabitants, ordered his army to advance nearer to the

city, not with a view, as was imagined, to attack it by a regular siege, but with a resolution to prevent any siege at all, by reducing all the fortresses in its neighbourhood, and thereby obviating any obstruction to his future views.

Vespasian having arrived at Gadara, the most affluent and best protected town beyond the river Jordan, and the principal place in the province, the most emineut of the inhabitants sent commissioners to invite him to come to the place, and take it under hie protection, which he did on the fourth of the month Dystrus. This the inhabitants, who were a wealthy people, did with a view to the preservation of their own lives and fortunes. The factious multitude were unacquainted with the meaning of this proceeding, farther than by Vespasian approaching the walls. The insurgents were now totally at a loss how to act. They found it impracticable for the town to sustain itself against so many internal and external enemies; for the Roman army was at hand, and the majority of the citizens were their determined enemies. Now, therefore, they thought to trust in flight for their safety; but they conceived that they could not honourably adopt this plan till they had first revenged themselves on the authors of their destruction. Having deliberated on this matter, they apprehended Dolesus, a person equally distinguished by his merit and his extraction, and an object of envy for having advised the embassy above-mentioned. Having taken him into custody, they gave orders that he should be put to death, and then that his dead body should be whipped; and they privately left the town as soon as these orders were carried into

execution.

No sooner had the Romans approached nearer towards the city, than the inhabitants went out to meet Vespasian, whom they conducted into the place with every testimony of congratulation: and, after having taken the oaths of fidelity which are customary on such occasions, they of their own accord destroyed the walls of the city, in order to give a striking proof of their fidelity and peaceable intentions, by putting it out of their power to do any injury even if they were so disposed. This being done, Vespasian bestowed on them a garrison of horse and foot for their protection, and then dispatched Placidus after the enemy with five hundred cavalry and three thousand infantry; after which he retired to Cæsarea with the remainder of his forces.

The fugitives finding that they were pursued, and that a party of horse gained ground upon them, turned aside to the village of Bethennabris before the Romans had got up to them. In this place there was a considerable number of stout young fellows, some of whom they persuaded, and others they compelled to enter into their service; and, being thus reinforced, they sallied forth, and made a desperate attack on Placidus, who, at the first, receded a little, but this only with a view to get the enemy farther from the town; and this plan having answered his expectation, Placidus attacked them when they were situated, so that he had an evident advantage of them, and totally routed them. The Roman cavalry intercepted those who consulted their safety by flight, while those who stood to their arms were destroyed by the infantry; in fact, they were foiled in all their attempts. Their attacking the Romans was indeed a presumptuous enterprize they might have encountered a wall or a rock with equal hope of success; for the Romans stood so close and firm, that it was not possible to break their main body; and were so guarded by their arms, that darts and lances could not affect them. On the contrary, the Jews were so ill protected, that they were injured by every kind of assault, and reached by any kind of weapons; till, at length, being irritated to the most violent degree of rage, they seemed abandoned to despair, and threw themselves on the swords of their enemies, by which many of them perished; some were cut in pieces, others were trampled under foot by the horse, and others again put to flight. Placidus exerted his utmost influence that none of the fugitives should