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

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  Speaker 1: Book seven, Chapter eight, Part one of the Wars of
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  Speaker 1: the Jews. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
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  Speaker 1: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
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  Speaker 1: please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by David Leeson. The
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  Speaker 1: Wars of the Jews by Flavius Josephus, translated by William Wiston,
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  Speaker 1: Book seven, Chapter eight, Part one, concerning Masada and those
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  Speaker 1: Sikarii who kept it, and how Silva betook himself to
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  Speaker 1: form the siege of that citadel. Eliezar's speeches to the besieged.
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  Speaker 1: When Bassis was dead in Judea, Flavius Silva succeeded him
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  Speaker 1: as procurator there, who, when he saw that all the
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  Speaker 1: rest of the country was subdued in this war, and
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  Speaker 1: that there was but one only stronghold that was still
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  Speaker 1: in rebellion, he got all his army together that lay
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  Speaker 1: in different place places, and made an expedition against it.
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  Speaker 1: This fortress was called Masada. It was one Eliezar, a
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  Speaker 1: potent man, and the commander of the Sicarii that had
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  Speaker 1: seized upon it. He was a descendant from that Judas
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  Speaker 1: who had persuaded abundance of the Jews, as we have
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  Speaker 1: formerly related, not to submit to the taxation when Cyrenius
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  Speaker 1: was sent into Judea to make one for then it
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  Speaker 1: was that the Sicarii got together against those that were
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  Speaker 1: willing to submit to the Romans, and treated them in
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  Speaker 1: all respects as if they had been their enemies, both
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  Speaker 1: by plundering them of what they had, by driving away
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  Speaker 1: their cattle, and by setting fire to their houses. For
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  Speaker 1: they said that they differed not at all from foreigners,
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  Speaker 1: by betraying in so cowardly a manner that freedom which
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  Speaker 1: Jews thought worthy to be contended for to the utmost,
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  Speaker 1: and by owning that they preferred slavery under the Romans before.
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  Speaker 1: Such a contention now was in reality no better than
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  Speaker 1: a pretense and a cloak for the barbarity which was
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  Speaker 1: made use of by them, and to color over their
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  Speaker 1: own avarice, which they afterwards made evident by their own actions.
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  Speaker 1: For those that were partners with them in their rebellion
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  Speaker 1: joined also with them in their war against the Romans,
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  Speaker 1: and went further lengths with them in their impudent undertakings
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  Speaker 1: against them. And when they were again convicted of dissembling
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  Speaker 1: in such their pretenses, they still more abused those that
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  Speaker 1: justly reproached them for their wickedness. And indeed that was
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  Speaker 1: a time most fertile in all manner of wicked practices,
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  Speaker 1: insomuch that no kind of evil deeds were then left undone,
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  Speaker 1: nor could any one so much as devise any bad
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  Speaker 1: thing that was new. So deeply were they all infected
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  Speaker 1: and strove with one another, in their single capacity and
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  Speaker 1: in their communities. Who should run the greatest lengths in
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  Speaker 1: impiety towards God and in unjust actions towards their neighbors,
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  Speaker 1: the men of power oppressing the multitude, and the multitude
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  Speaker 1: earnestly laboring to destroy the men of power. The one
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  Speaker 1: part were desirous of tyrannizing over others, and the rest
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  Speaker 1: of offering violence to others, and of plundering such as
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  Speaker 1: were richer than themselves. They were the siicarii who first
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  Speaker 1: began these transgressions, and first became barbarous toward those allied
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  Speaker 1: to them, and left no words of reproach unsaid, and
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  Speaker 1: no works of perdition untried, in order to destroy those
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  Speaker 1: whom their contrivances affected. Yet did John demonstrate by his
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  Speaker 1: actions that these Sicarii were more moderate than he was himself.
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  Speaker 1: For he not only slew all such as gave him
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  Speaker 1: good counsel to do what was right, but treated them
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  Speaker 1: worst of all, as the most bitter enemies that he
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  Speaker 1: had among all the citizens. Nay, he filled his entire
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  Speaker 1: country with ten thousand instances of wickedness, such as a
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  Speaker 1: man who was already hardened sufficiently in his impiety towards
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  Speaker 1: God would naturally do for the food was unlawful that
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  Speaker 1: was set upon his table, and he rejected those purifications
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  Speaker 1: that the law of his country had ordained, so that
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  Speaker 1: it was no longer a wonder if he who was
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  Speaker 1: so mad in his impiety towards God did not observe
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  Speaker 1: any rules of gentleness and common affection towards men. Again, therefore,
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  Speaker 1: what mischief was there which Simon, the son of Gioras
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  Speaker 1: did not do, or what kind of abuses did he
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  Speaker 1: abstain from? As to those very freemen who had set
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  Speaker 1: him up for a tyrant, What friendship or kindred were
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  Speaker 1: there that did not make him more bold in his
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  Speaker 1: daily murders. For they looked upon the doing of mischief
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  Speaker 1: to strangers only as a work beneath their courage, but
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  Speaker 1: thought their barbarity towards their nearest relations would be a
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  Speaker 1: glorious demonstration. Thereof the id Maeans also strove with these men,
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  Speaker 1: who should be guilty of the greatest man madness, For
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  Speaker 1: they all vile wretches. As they were cut the throats
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  Speaker 1: of the high priests, that so no part of a
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  Speaker 1: religious regard to God might be preserved. They thence proceeded
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  Speaker 1: to destroy utterly the least remains of a political government,
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  Speaker 1: and introduced the most complete scene of iniquity in all
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  Speaker 1: instances that were practicable, under which scene that sort of
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  Speaker 1: people that were called zealots grew up, and who indeed
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  Speaker 1: corresponded to the name, For they imitated every wicked work,
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  Speaker 1: Nor if their memory suggested any evil thing that had
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  Speaker 1: formerly been done, did they avoid zealously to pursue the same.
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  Speaker 1: And although they gave themselves that name from their zeal
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  Speaker 1: for what was good, yet did it agree to them
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  Speaker 1: only by way of irony on account of those they
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  Speaker 1: had unjustly treated by their wild and brutish disposition, or
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  Speaker 1: as thinking the greatest mischiefs to be the greatest good.
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  Speaker 1: Accordingly they all met with such ends as God deservedly
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  Speaker 1: brought upon them them in way of punishment. For all
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  Speaker 1: such miseries have been sent upon them, as man's nature
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  Speaker 1: is capable of undergoing, till the utmost period of their lives,
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  Speaker 1: until death came upon them in various ways of torment.
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  Speaker 1: Yet might one say justly that they suffered less than
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  Speaker 1: they had done, because it was impossible they could be
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  Speaker 1: punished according to their deserving But to make a lamentation
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  Speaker 1: according to the deserts of those who fell under these
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  Speaker 1: men's barbarity, this is not a proper place for it.
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  Speaker 1: I therefore now return again to the remaining part of
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  Speaker 1: the present narration. For now it was that the Roman
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  Speaker 1: general came and led his army against Eliezar and those
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  Speaker 1: Sikarii who held the fortress Masada. Together with him, and
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  Speaker 1: for the whole country adjoining. He presently gained it and
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  Speaker 1: put garrisons into the most proper places of it. He
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  Speaker 1: also built a wall quite round the entire fortress, that
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  Speaker 1: none of the besieged might easily escape. He also set
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  Speaker 1: his men to guard the several parts of it. He
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  Speaker 1: also pitched his camp in such an agreeable place as
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  Speaker 1: he had chosen for the siege, and at which place
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  Speaker 1: the rock belonging to the fortress did make the nearest
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  Speaker 1: approach to the neighboring mountain, which yet was a place
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  Speaker 1: of difficulty for getting plenty of provisions. For it was
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  Speaker 1: not only food that was to be brought from a
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  Speaker 1: great distance to the army, and this with a great
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  Speaker 1: deal of pain to those Jews who were appointed for
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  Speaker 1: that purpose, but water was also to be brought to
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  Speaker 1: the camp, because the place afforded no fountain that was
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  Speaker 1: near it. When therefore Silva had ordered these affairs beforehand,
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  Speaker 1: he fell to besieging the place which siege was likely
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  Speaker 1: to stand in need of a great deal of skill
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  Speaker 1: and pains by reason of the strength of the fortress.
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  Speaker 1: The nature of which I will now describe. There was
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  Speaker 1: a rock, not small in circumference, and very high. It
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  Speaker 1: was encompassed with valleys of such vast depth downward that
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  Speaker 1: the eye could not reach their bottoms. They were abrupt,
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  Speaker 1: and such as no animal could walk upon, excepting at
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  Speaker 1: two places of the rock where it subsides, in order
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  Speaker 1: to afford a passage for ascent, though not without difficulty. Now,
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  Speaker 1: of the ways that lead to it, one is that
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  Speaker 1: from the lake as Faulterius towards the sun rising, and
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  Speaker 1: another on the west, where the ascent is easier. The
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  Speaker 1: one of these ways is called the serpent, as resembling
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  Speaker 1: that animal in its narrowness and its perpetual windings. For
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  Speaker 1: it is broken off at the prominent precipices of the rock,
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  Speaker 1: and returns frequently into itself, and lengthening again by little
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  Speaker 1: and little. Hath much ado to proceed forward, And he
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  Speaker 1: that would walk along it must first go on one leg,
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  Speaker 1: and then on the other. There is also nothing but
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  Speaker 1: destruction in case your feet slip, for on each side
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  Speaker 1: there is a vastly deep chasm and precipice, sufficient to
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  Speaker 1: quell the courage of every body by the terror it
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  Speaker 1: infuses into the mind. When therefore a man hath gone
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  Speaker 1: along this way for thirty furlongs. The rest is the
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  Speaker 1: top of the hill, not ending at a small point,
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  Speaker 1: but it is no other than a plain upon the
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  Speaker 1: highest part of the mountain. Upon this top of the hill,
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  Speaker 1: Jonathan the High Priest, first of all built a fortress
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  Speaker 1: and called it Masada, after which the rebuilding of this
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  Speaker 1: place employed the care of King Herod to a great degree.
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  Speaker 1: He also built a wall round about the entire top
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  Speaker 1: of the hill, seven furlongs long. It was composed of
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  Speaker 1: white stone. Its height was twelve and its breadth eight cubits.
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  Speaker 1: There were also erected upon that wall thirty eight towers,
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  Speaker 1: each of them fifty cubits high, out of which you
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  Speaker 1: might pass into lesser edifices, which were built on the
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  Speaker 1: inside round the entire wall. For the King reserved the
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  Speaker 1: top of the hill, which was of a fat soil
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  Speaker 1: and better mold than any valley for agriculture, that such
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  Speaker 1: as committed themselves to this fortress for their preservation, might
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  Speaker 1: not even there be quite destitute of food, in case
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  Speaker 1: they should ever be in want of it from abroad. Moreover,
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  Speaker 1: he built a palace therein at the western ascent. It
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  Speaker 1: was within and beneath the walls of the citadel, but
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  Speaker 1: inclined to its north side. Now, the wall of this
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  Speaker 1: palace was very high and strong, and had at its
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  Speaker 1: four corners towers sixty cubits high. The furniture, also of
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  Speaker 1: the edifices, and of the cloisters and of the baths,
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  Speaker 1: was of great variety and very costly, And these buildings
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  Speaker 1: were supported by pillars of single stones, on every side.
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  Speaker 1: The walls and also the floors of the edifices were
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  Speaker 1: paved with stones of several colors. He also had cut
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  Speaker 1: many and great pits as reservoirs for water out of
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  Speaker 1: the rocks, and that every one of the places that
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  Speaker 1: were inhabited, both above and round about the palace and
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  Speaker 1: before the wall, and by this contrivance he endeavored to
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  Speaker 1: have water for several uses, as if there had been
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  Speaker 1: fountains there. Here was also a road digged from the
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  Speaker 1: palace and leading to the very top of the mountain,
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  Speaker 1: which yet could not be seen by such as were
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  Speaker 1: without the walls, nor indeed could enemies easily make use
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  Speaker 1: of the plain roads. For the road on the east side,
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  Speaker 1: as we have already taken notice, could not be walked
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  Speaker 1: upon by reason of its nature. And for the western road,
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  Speaker 1: he built a large tower at its narrowest place, at
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  Speaker 1: no less a distance from the top of the hill
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  Speaker 1: than a thousand cubits, which tower could not possibly be
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  Speaker 1: passed by, nor could it be easily taken, nor indeed
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  Speaker 1: could those that walked along it without any fear such
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  Speaker 1: was its contrivance, easily get to the end of it.
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  Speaker 1: And after such a manner was this citadel fortified both
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  Speaker 1: by nature and by the hands of men, in order
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  Speaker 1: to frustrate the attacks of enemies. As for the furniture
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  Speaker 1: that was within this fortress, it was still more wonderful
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  Speaker 1: on account of its splendor and long continuance. For here
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  Speaker 1: was laid up corn in large quantities, and such as
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  Speaker 1: would subsist men for a long time. Here was also
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  Speaker 1: wine and oil in abundance, with all kinds of pulse
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  Speaker 1: and dates, heaped up together, all which elias are found there.
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  Speaker 1: When he and his Sikaria got possession of the fortress
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  Speaker 1: by treachery, these fruits were also fresh and full, ripe,
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  Speaker 1: and no way inferior to such fruits newly laid in,
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  Speaker 1: although they were little short of a hundred years from
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  Speaker 1: the laying in these provisions by Herod till the place
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  Speaker 1: was taken by the Romans. Nay, indeed, when the Romans
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  Speaker 1: got possession of those fruits that were left, they found
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  Speaker 1: them not corrupted all that while, Nor should we be
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  Speaker 1: mistaken if we supposed that the heir was here the
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  Speaker 1: cause of their enduring so long, this fortress being so
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  Speaker 1: high and so free from the mixture of all terrain,
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  Speaker 1: and muddy particles of matter. There was also found here
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  Speaker 1: a large quantity of all sorts of weapons of war,
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  Speaker 1: which had been treasured up by that king, and were
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  Speaker 1: sufficient for ten thousand men. There was cast iron, and
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  Speaker 1: brass and tin, which showed that he had taken much
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  Speaker 1: pains to have all things here ready for the greatest occasions.
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  Speaker 1: For the report goes how Herod thus prepared this fortress
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  Speaker 1: on his own account, as a refuge against two kinds
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  Speaker 1: of danger, the one for fear of the multitude of
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  Speaker 1: the Jews, lest they should depose him and restore their
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  Speaker 1: former kings to the government. The other danger was greater
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  Speaker 1: and more terrible, which arose from Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt,
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  Speaker 1: who did not conceal her intentions, but spoke often to
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  Speaker 1: Antony and desired him to cut off Herod, and entreated
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  Speaker 1: him to bestow the Kingdom of Judea upon her. And
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  Speaker 1: certainly it is a great wonder that Antony did never
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  Speaker 1: comply with her commands in this point, as he was
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  Speaker 1: so miserably enslaved to his passion for her, Nor should
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  Speaker 1: any one have been surprised if she had been gratified
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  Speaker 1: in such her request. So the fear of these dangers
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  Speaker 1: made Herod rebuild Masada and thereby leave it for the
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  Speaker 1: finishing stroke of the Romans in this Jewish war. Since
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  Speaker 1: therefore the Roman commander Silva had now built a wall
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  Speaker 1: on the outside round about this whole place, as we
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  Speaker 1: have said already, and had thereby made a most accurate
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  Speaker 1: provision to prevent any one of the besieged running away,
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  Speaker 1: he undertook the siege itself, though he found but one
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  Speaker 1: single place that would admit of the banks he was
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  Speaker 1: to raise. For behind that tower, which secured the road
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  Speaker 1: that led to the palace and to the top of
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  Speaker 1: the hill from the west, there was a cer an
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  Speaker 1: imminency of the rock, very broad and very prominent, but
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  Speaker 1: three hundred cubits beneath the highest part of Masada. It
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  Speaker 1: was called the White promontory. Accordingly, he got upon that
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  Speaker 1: part of the rock and ordered the army to bring earth.
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  Speaker 1: And when they fell to that work, with alacrity and
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  Speaker 1: abundance of them together the bank was raised and became
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  Speaker 1: solid for two hundred cubits in height. Yet was not
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  Speaker 1: this bank thought sufficiently high for the use of the
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  Speaker 1: engines that were to be set upon it. But Still,
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  Speaker 1: another elevated work of great stones compacted together was raised
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  Speaker 1: upon that bank. This was fifty cubits both in breadth
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  Speaker 1: and height. The other machines that were now got ready
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  Speaker 1: were like to those that had been first devised by Vespasian,
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  Speaker 1: and afterwards by Titus. For Sieges, there was also a
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  Speaker 1: tower made of the height of sixty cubits and all
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  Speaker 1: over plated with iron, out of which the Romans threw
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  Speaker 1: darts and stones from the engines, and soon made those
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  Speaker 1: that fought from the walls of the place to retire,
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  Speaker 1: and would not let them lift up their heads above
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  Speaker 1: the works. At the same time, Silva ordered that great
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  Speaker 1: battering ram which he had made, to be brought thither
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  Speaker 1: and to be set against the wall, and to make
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  Speaker 1: frequent batteries against it, which, with some difficulty, broke down
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  Speaker 1: a part of the wall and quite overthrew it. However,
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  Speaker 1: the Sikari eye made haste and presently built another wall
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  Speaker 1: within that which should not be liable to the same
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  Speaker 1: misfortune from the machines. With the other. It was made
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  Speaker 1: soft and yielding, and so was capable of avoiding the
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  Speaker 1: terrible blows that affected the other. It was framed after
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  Speaker 1: the following manner. They laid together great beams of wood lengthways,
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  Speaker 1: one close to the end of another, and the same
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  Speaker 1: way in which they were cut. There were two of
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  Speaker 1: these rows parallel to one another, and laid at such
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  Speaker 1: a distance from me either each other as the breadth
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  Speaker 1: of the wall required, and earth was put into the
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  Speaker 1: space between those rows. Now that the earth might not
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  Speaker 1: fall away upon the elevation of this bank to a
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  Speaker 1: greater height. They further laid other beams overcrossed them, and
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  Speaker 1: thereby bound those beams together that lay lengthways. This work
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  Speaker 1: of theirs was like a real edifice, and when the
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  Speaker 1: machines were applied, the blows were weakened by its yielding,
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  Speaker 1: And as the materials by such concussion were shaken closer together,
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  Speaker 1: the pile, by that means, became firmer than before. When
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  Speaker 1: Silva saw this, he thought it best to endeavor the
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  Speaker 1: taking of this wall by setting fire to it. So
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  Speaker 1: he gave orders that the soldiers should throw a great
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  Speaker 1: number of burning torches upon it. Accordingly, as it was
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  Speaker 1: chiefly made of wood, it soon took fire, and when
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  Speaker 1: it was once set on fire, its hollowness made that
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  Speaker 1: fire spread to a mighty flame. Now at the very
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  Speaker 1: beginning of this a north wind that then blew proved
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  Speaker 1: terrible to the Romans, for by bringing the flame downward,
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  Speaker 1: it drove it upon them, and they were almost in
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  Speaker 1: despair of success, as fearing their machines would be burnt.
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  Speaker 1: But after this, on a sudden the wind changed into
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  Speaker 1: the south, as if it were done by divine providence,
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  Speaker 1: and blew strongly the contrary way, and carried the flame
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  Speaker 1: and drove it against the wall, which was now on
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  Speaker 1: fire through its entire thickness. So the Romans, having now
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  Speaker 1: assistance from God, returned to their camp with joy, and
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  Speaker 1: resolved to attack their enemies the very next day, on
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  Speaker 1: which occasion they set their watch more carefully that night,
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  Speaker 1: lest any of the Jews should run away from them
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  Speaker 1: without being discovered. End of Book seven, Chapter eight, Part
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  Speaker 1: one