Latest / Wars of the Jews / 72 - Wars of the Jews by Flavius Josephus

Transcript

72 - Wars of the Jews by Flavius Josephus · Wars of the Jews

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Book seven, chapters nine through eleven, of The Wars of
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: the Jews. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by David Leeson. The
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Wars of the Jews by Flavius Josephus, translated by William Wiston,
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: chapters nine through eleven. Chapter nine, How the people that
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: were in the fortress were prevailed on by the words
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: of Eliazar. Two women and five children only accepted, and
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: all submitted to be killed by one another. Now, as
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Eliazar was proceeding on in this exhortation, they all cut
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: him off short and made haste to do the work,
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: as full of an unconquerable ardor of mind, and moved
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: with a demoniacal fury. So they went their ways, as
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: one still endeavoring to be before another, and as thinking
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: that this eagerness would be a demonstration of their courage
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: and good conduct if they could avoid appearing in the
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: last class. So great was the zeal they were in
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: to slay their wives and their children, and themselves also.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Nor indeed, when they came to the work itself, did
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: their courage fail them, as one might imagine it would
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: have done. But they then held fast the same resolution,
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: without wavering, which they had upon the hearing of Eliezar's speech.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: While yet every one of them still retained the natural
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: passion of love to themselves and their families, because the
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: reasoning they went upon appeared to them to be very just,
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: even with regard to those that were dearest to them.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: For the husbands tenderly embraced their wives, and took their
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: children into their arms, and gave the longest parting kisses
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: to them, with tears in their eyes. Yet at the
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: same time did they complete what they had resolved on,
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: as if they had been executed by the hands of strangers,
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: and they had nothing else for their comfort but the
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: necessity they were in of doing this execution to avoid
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: that prospect they had of the miseries they were to
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: suffer from their enemies. Nor was there at length any
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: one of these men found that scrupled to act their
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: part in this terrible execution. But every one of them
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: despatched his dearest relations. Miserable men indeed were they whose
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: distress forced them to slay their own wives and children,
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: with their own hands, as the lightest of those evils
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: that were before them. So they being not able to
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: bear the grief they were under for what they had
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: done any longer, and esteeming it an injury to those
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: they had slain to live even the shortest space of
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: time after them, they presently laid all they had upon
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: a heap and set fire to it. They then chose
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: ten men by lot out of them to slay all
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: the rest, every one of whom laid himself down by
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: his wife and children on the ground, and threw his
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: arms about them. And they offered their next to the
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: stroke of those who by lot executed that melancholy office.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: And when these ten had, without fear slain them all,
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: they made the same rule for casting lots for themselves,
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: that he whose lot it was should first kill the
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: other nine, and after all should kill himself. Accordingly, all
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: these had courage sufficient to be no way behind one
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: another in doing or suffering. So for a conclusion, the
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: nine offered their next to the executioner, and he who
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: was the last of all, took a view of all
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: the other bodies, lest perchance some or other among so
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: many that were slain should want his assistance to be
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: quite despatched, And when he perceived that they were all slain,
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: he set fire to the palace, and with the great
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: force of his hand, ran his sword entirely through himself,
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: and fell down dead near to his own relations. So
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: these people died with this intention that they would not
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: leave so much as one soul among them all alive,
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: to be subject to the Romans. Yet there was an
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: ancient woman, and another who was of kin to Eliezar,
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: and superior to most women in prudence and learning, with
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: five children, who had concealed themselves in caverns underground, and
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: had carried water thither for their drink, and were hidden
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: there when the rest were intent upon the slaughter of
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: one another. Those others were nine hundred and sixty in number,
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: the women and children being withal included in that computation.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: This calamitous slaughter was made on the fifteenth day of
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: the month Xanthicus. Now for the Romans, they expected that
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: they should be fought in the morning, when accordingly they
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: put on their armor and laid bridges of planks upon
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: their ladders from their banks to make an assault upon
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: the fortress, which they did, but saw nobody as an enemy,
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: but a terrible solitude on every side, with a fire
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: within the place, as well as a perfect silence, so
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: they were at a loss to guess at what had happened.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: At length, they made a shout, as if it had
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: been at a blow given by the battering ram, to
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: try whether they could bring anyone out that was within.
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: The women heard this noise and came out of their
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: underground cavern and informed the Romans what had been done,
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: as it was done, and the second of them clearly
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: described all both what was said and what was done,
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: and this manner of it. Yet did they not easily
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: give their attention to such a desperate undertaking, and did
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: not believe it could be as they said. They also
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: attempted to put the fire out, and quickly cutting themselves
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: away through it, they came within the palace and so
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: met with the multitude of the slain, but could take
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: no pleasure in the fact though it were done to
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: their enemies, nor could they do other than wonder at
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: the courage of their resolution and the immovable contempt of death,
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: which so great a number of them had shown when
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: they went through with such an action as that was
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: Chapter ten. That many of the Sikarii fled to Alexandria also,
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: and what dangers they were in there, on which account
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: that temple, which had formerly been built by Onias the
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: High Priest, was destroyed. When Masada was thus taken, the
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: general left a garrison in the fortress to keep it,
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: and he himself went away to Caesarea, for there were
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: now no enemies left in the country, but it was
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: all overthrown by so long a war. Yet did this
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: war afford disturbances and dangerous disorders even in places very
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: far remote from Judea. For still it came to pass
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: that many Jews were slain at Alexandria in Egypt. For
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: as many of the Sicarii as were able to fly
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: thither out of the seditious wars in Judea, were not
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: content to have saved themselves, but must needs be undertaking
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: to make new disturbances, and persuaded many of those that
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: entertained them to assert their liberty, to esteem the Romans
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: to be no better than themselves, and to look upon
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: God as their only lord and master. But when part
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: of the Jews of reputation opposed them, they slew some
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: of them, and with the others they were very pressing
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: in their exhortations to revolt from the Romans. But when
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: the principal men of the Senate saw what madness they
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: were come to, they thought it no longer safe for
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: themselves to overlook them. So they got all the Jews
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: together to an assembly and accused the madness of the Sicarii,
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: and demonstrated that they had been the authors of all
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: the evils that had come upon them. They said also
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: that these men, now that they were run away from Judea,
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: having no sure hope of escaping, because as soon as
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: ever they shall be known, they will soon be destroyed
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: by the Romans. They come hither and fill us full
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: of those calamities which belonged to them, while we have
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: not been partakers with them in any of their sins. Accordingly,
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: they exhorted the multitude to have a care lest they
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: should be brought to destruction by their means, and to
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: make their apology to the Romans for what had been
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: done by delivering these men up to them, who, being
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: thus apprized of the greatness of the danger they were in,
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: complied with what was proposed, and ran with great violence
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: upon the Sikarie and seized upon them, and indeed six
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: hundred of them were caught immediately. But as to all
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: those that fled into Egypt, and to the Egyptian Thebes,
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: it was not long ere. They were caught also and
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: brought back. Whose courage, or whether we ought to call
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: it madness or hardiness in their own opinions, every body
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: was amazed at, For when all sorts of torments and
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: vexations of their bodies that could be devised were made
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: use of to them, they could not get any one
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: of them to comply so far as to confess, or
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: seemed to confess, that Caesar was their lord. But they
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: preserved their own opinion in spite of all the distress
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: they were brought to, as if they received these torments
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: and the fire itself, with bodies insensible of pain, and
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: with a soul that, in a manner rejoiced under them.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: But what was most of all astonishing to the beholders
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: was the courage of the children. For not one of
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: these children was so far overcome by these torments as
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: to name Caesar for their lord. So far does the
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: strength of the courage of the soul prevail over the
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: weakness of the body. Now Lupus did then govern Alexandria,
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: who presently sent Caesar word of this commotion, who, having
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: in suspicion the restless temper of the Jews for innovation,
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: and being afraid lest they should get together again and
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: persuade some others to join with them, gave orders to
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: Lupus to demolish that Jewish temple which was in the
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: region called Oneon, and was in Egypt, which was built
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: and had its denomination from the occasion following Onias, the
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: son of Simon, one of the Jewish high priests, fled
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: from Antiochus, the king of Syria, when he made war
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: with the Jews, and came to Alexandria, and as Ptolemy
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: received him very kindly on account of hatred to Antiochus.
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: He assured him that if he would comply with his proposal,
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: he would bring all the Jews to his assistants. And
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: when the king agreed to do it, so far as
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: he was able, he desired him to give him leave
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: to build a temple somewhere in Egypt and to worship
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: God according to the customs of his own country, for
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: that the Jews would then be so much readier to
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: fight against Antiochus, who had laid waste the temple at Jerusalem,
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: and that they would then come to him with us
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: greater good will, and that by granting them liberty of conscience,
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: very many of them would come over to him. So
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: Ptolemy complied with his proposals and gave him a place
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: one hundred and eighty furlongs distant from Memphis. That nomos
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: was called the Nomos of Heliopolis, where Onias built a
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: fortress and a temple, not like to that at Jerusalem,
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: but such as resembled a tower. He built it of
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: large stones, to the height of sixty cubits. He made
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: the structure of the altar in imitation of that in
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: our own country, and in like manner, adorned with gifts,
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: excepting the make of the candlestick, for he did not
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: make a candlestick, but had a single lamp hammered out
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: of a piece of gold, which illuminated the place with
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: its rays, and which he hung by a chain of gold.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: But the entire temple was encompassed with a wall of
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: burnt brick, though it had gates of stone. The king
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: also gave him a large country for a revenue in
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: money that both the priests might have a plentiful provision
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: made for them, and that God might have great abundance
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: of what things were necessary for his worship. Yet did
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: not Onias do this out of a sober disposition. But
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: he had a mind to contend with the Jews at Jerusalem,
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: and could not forget the indignation he had for being banished.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: Thence accordingly he thought that by building this temple he
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: should draw away a great number from them to himself.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: There had been also a certain ancient prediction made by
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: a prophet whose name was Isaiah, about six hundred years before,
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: that this temple should be built by a man that
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: was a Jew in Egypt. And this is the history
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: of the building of that temple. And now Lupus, the
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: governor of Alexandria, upon the receipt of Caesar's letter, came
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: to the temple and carried out of it some of
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: the donations dedicated there too, and shut up the temple itself.
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: And as Lupus died a little afterward, Pauliness succeeded him.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: This man left none of those donations there, and threatened
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: the priests severely if they did not bring them all out.
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: Nor did he permit any who were desirous of worshiping
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: God there to so much as come near the whole
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: sacred place. But when he had shut up the gates,
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: he made it entirely inaccessible, insomuch that there remained no
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: longer the least footsteps of any divine worship that had
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: been in that place. Now, the duration of the time
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: from the building of this temple till it was shut
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: up again was three hundred and forty three years. Chapter
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: eleven concerning Jonathan, one of the Sicarii that stirred up
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: a sedition in Syrene, and was a false accuser of
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: the innocent. And now did the madness of the Sicarii,
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: like a disease, reach as far as the cities of Syrene.
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: For one Jonathan, a vile person and by trade a weaver,
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: came thither and prevailed with no small number of the
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: poorer sort to give ear to him. He also led
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: them into the desert, upon promising them that he would
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: show them signs and apparitions. And as for the other
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: Jews of Syrene, he concealed his knavery from them and
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: put tricks upon them. But those of the greatest dignity
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: among them informed Catullus, the governor of the Libyan Pentapolis,
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: of his march into the desert, and of the preparations
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: he had made for it. So he sent out after
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: him both horsemen and footmen, and easily overcame them, because
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: they were unarmed men. Of these many were slain in
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: the fight, but some were taken alive and brought to Catullus.
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: As for Jonathan, the head of this plot, he fled
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: away at that time, But upon a great and very
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: diligent search which was made all the country over for him,
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: he was at last taken, and when he was brought
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: to Catullus, he devised away, whereby he both escaped punishment
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: himself and afforded an occasion to Catullus of doing much mischief,
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: for he falsely accused the richest men among the Jews,
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: and said that they had put him upon what he did.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: Now Catullus easily admitted of these his calumnies, and aggravated
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: matters greatly, and made tragical exclamations that he might also
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: be supposed to have had a hand in the finishing
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: of the Jewish war. But what was still harder, he
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: did not only give a too easy belief to his stories,
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: but he taught the Sicharii to accuse men falsely. He
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: bid this Jonathan therefore, to name one Alexander, a Jew
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: with whom he had formerly had a quarrel, and openly
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: professed that he hated him. He also got him to
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: name his wife, Bernice, as concerned with him. These two
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: Catullus ordered to be slain in the first place, Nay,
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: after them, he caused all the rich and wealthy Jews
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: to be slain, being no fewer in all than three thousand.
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: This he thought he might do safely, because he confiscated
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: their effects and added them to Caesar's revenues. Nay, indeed,
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: lest any Jews that lived elsewhere should convict him of
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: his villainy, he extended his false accusations further, and persuaded
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: Jonathan and certain others that were caught with him, to
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: bring an accusation of attempts for innovation against the Jews
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: that were of the best character, both at Alexandria and
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: that Rome. One of these against whom this treacherous accusation
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: was laid was Josephus, the writer of these books. However,
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: this plot, thus contrived by Catullus did not succeed according
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: to his hopes. For though he came himself to Rome
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: and brought Jonathan and his companions along with him in bonds,
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: and thought that he should have no further inquisition made
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: as to the lies that were forged under his government
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: or by his means. Yet did Vespasian suspect the matter,
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: and made an inquiry how far it was true, And
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: when he understood that the accusation laid it against the
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: Jews was an unjust one, he cleared them of the
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: crimes charged upon them. And this on account of Titus's
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: concern about the matter, and brought a deserved punishment upon Jonathan,
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: for he was first tormented and then burnt alive. But
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: as to Catullus, the emperors were so gentle to him
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: that he underwent no severe condemnation at this time. Yet
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: was it not long before he fell into a complicated
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: and almost incurable distemper and died miserably. He was not
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: only afflicted in body, but the distemper in his mind
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: was more heavy upon him than the other, for he
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: was terribly disturbed and continually cried out that he saw
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: the ghosts of those whom he had slain, Standing before him,
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: whereupon he was not able to contain himself, but leaped
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: out of his bed, as if both torments and fire
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: were brought to him. Thus his distemper grew still a
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: great deal worse and worse continually, and his very entrails
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: were so corroded that they fell out of his body,
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: and in that condition he died. Thus he became as
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: great an instance of divine providence as ever was, and
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: demonstrated that God punishes wicked men. And here we shall
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: put an end to this our history, wherein we formerly
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: promised to deliver the same with all accuracy, to such
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: as should be desirous of understanding. After what manner this
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: war of the Romans with the Jews was managed, of
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: which history, how good the style is, must be left
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: to the determination of the readers. But as for its
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: agreement with the facts, I shall not scruple to say,
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: and that boldly that truth hath been what I have
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: alone aimed at through its entire composition. End of Book seven,
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: Chapters nine through eleven. End of Book seven, End of
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: the Wars of the Jews by Flavius Josei, translated by
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: William Wiston