Josephus wrote back a friendly answer, excusing himself from attendance, on account of the necessity of watching Placidus. The deputies, who passed from place to place and found almost every town in favour of Josephus, and enraged against John, sent a more peremptory message, requiring his attendance at Gabara, to make good his charge against John of Gischala. Josephus expressed his readiness to wait upon them, but not at Gabara or Gischala, where he apprehended treachery. They determined to send messengers throughout Galilee to excite the malcontents. Josephus waylaid the roads from Gabara, seized the messengers, and made himself master of all the letters. Upon this he surrounded Gabara with his own Galileans, and boldly entered the town. He first went to repose at an inn; his enemies seized the opportunity to raise the people against him, but failed. Josephus soon after made his appearance in the assembly. The Galileans surrounded the hall with loud acclamations. John and his friends endeavoured, in vain, to make their escape. Josephus publicly read the letters which he had intercepted, the deputies were confounded, the people unanimous in their applause. The mob would willingly have fallen on the whole assembly, who were saved only by the merciful intervention of Josephus. The governor then took horse and rode away to Sogana. From thence he despatched an embassy of 100 men of distinction, escorted by an armed guard of 500, to Jerusalem.

The discomfited deputies retired to Tiberias, John to Gischala. At Tiberias they expected the city to declare in their favour, but Josephus suddenly made his appearance there. They received him with hypocritical courtesy, but requested him to withdraw, on account of the approaching Sabbath, lest there should be a disturbance. He retired to Tarichea; new scenes of trickery followed; the deputies, with Jesus and Justus, the turbulent leaders of Tiberias, endeavoured to raise the town. Josephus again appeared with his soldiers; they got rid of him by a false alarm of Roman troops seen in the neighbourhood. Josephus Counteracted this by another plot. They appointed a general fast, during which no one was to appear armed at the proseucha. Josephus and his friends concealed their daggers and breastplates under their robes, and when the enemy expected to find them defenceless, they brandished their weapons. The deputation of Josephus, in the mean time, returned from Jerusalem with a favourable answer, confirming him in the government. He summoned an assembly of the Galileans, who, in the same spirit, declared their ready and cheerful submission to his command. Emboldened by this, he began to act with greater vigour ; he chastised the unruly inhabitants of Tiberias, got the deputies into his power, and sent them back to Jerusalem.

Tiberias attempted again to revolt, and surrender the city to the troops of Agrippa. Not having his forces in readiness, Josephus had recourse, as usual, to one of his stratagems. He seized 240 vessels, put not above four sailors in each, and commanded them to take their station in sight of the town, and then advanced boldly to the gates. The citizens, supposing the ships full of soldiers, surrendered at discretion. Josephus got the senators to the number of 600, and 2000 of the people, within his power, and sent them to Tarichea. They denounced one Clitus as the ringleader; he was carried to the shore to have his hands cut off; on his earnest supplication, one was spared; the rest of the malcontents were pardoned. After this, Josephus surprised Gischala, and gave it up to pillage. Sepphoris admitted the troops of Gallus into their city. Josephus, with his forces, scaled the walls, but was beaten back, and afterwards defeated in the open plain. The troops of Agrippa soon after made their appearance under the command of Sylla; they were posted near Julias. Josephus endeavoured, by a feigned flight, to betray them into an ambush, and might have succeeded, but his horse unfortunately plunged into a morass, and he was severely hurt in the wrist, and carried to Cepharnome. From thence, feverish symptoms appearing, he was removed to Tarichea.

Thus we have endeavoured to wind our weary way through the intricate politics of Galilee. It is difficult to conceive how all these intrigues, as well as all the masterly and effective warlike preparations of Josephus, could be carried on simultaneously, more particularly if all these transactions must be crowded into the winter of one year, 66-7. Besides the details of armies raised, armed, and exercised; cities fortified and strengthened; the civil administration set on a regular footing; by his own statement, Josephus twice took Sepphoris, four times Tiberias, once Gadara, perhaps Gischala; counteracted the plots, defeated the troops, took and pardoned his subtle antagonist John. Yet we must either, adhering to the usual chronology, admit this improbability, or throw back the whole events of the year which ended in the defeat of Cestius Gallus into the year 65; and adopt almost as incredible a supposition, that, with most unusual inactivity, the Romans left the defeat of Cestius unrevenged, and allowed the Jews a whole year to organise their revolt, and strengthen their territory against invasion.

In the mean time, the insurgents in Jerusalem continued to press their preparations for war, with as great activity and less interruption than those in Galilee. For though the timid and moderate groaned in heart to hear the din of war, the clattering of arms, the gymnasia echoing with the trampling march of all the youth in military exercise; and sadly foreboded the miseries

and ruin to which the joyous city, the place of national festival, the rich, the beautiful, the holy city of Sion was thus self-devoted; though they could not utter their prayers in the temple, nor make their offerings on the altar of Jehovah without awful misgivings that before long the worship might be proscribed, and fire and sword lay waste the courts of the Lord's house; yet they were constrained to suppress or conceal the unpopular weakness, and trembled lest the fierce eye of the Zealot or the Assassin should detect the dangerous or unpatriotic emotion.

In the city, Ananus the chief priest took the lead; arms were fabricated with the greatest activity; the walls strengthened, military engines made, and stores of every kind laid in with the utmost care and expedition. The timid and moderate were not the only enemies with whom Ananus had to contend. The fierce Simon, the son of Gioras, has already appeared, at the head of his daring bandits, rendering good service during the retreat of Cestius. In the toparchy of Acrabatene,* he had betaken himself, not to the regular defence of the country, but to the most lawless ravage. He broke open and pillaged the houses of the opulent; and even inflicted personal violence, scourging and maltreating all who opposed him. Already men began to forebode both his daring ambition, which would not be content with less than the highest station, and his cruelty, which would scruple at no means of obtaining or securing advancement. Ananus sent some troops against him: Simon took refuge with men of a kindred spirit, who held Masada; and from thence he pursued his ravages in Idumæa, till the magistrates of that district were constrained to raise an army, and set a guard in every village.

It was probably soon after the defeat of Cestius, that an unsuccessful expedition was attempted against Ascalon. This strong city, situated about sixty-five miles from Jerusalem, was weakly garrisoned by one cohort of foot and one troop of horse, under a commander named Antonius. The Jews marched out in great force under Niger of Peræa, Silas the Babylonian, and John the Essene. Antonius, undismayed by the number and the daring of the enemy, led out his horse. The Jewish soldiers were all infantry, undisciplined and unused to war. The first furious charge of the cavalry broke their van, which fell back on their main body, threw it into confusion, and the whole army was scattered in small squadrons over the field. The active Roman horse attacked first one band, then another, charging and riding round them,-their mounted archers making dreadful havoc. Numbers were of no avail, or rather stood in the way

There were two Acrabatenes, which cause great confusion; one, according to Jerome, between Neapolis, Sichem, and Jericho; the other in the south of Judæa, bordering on Idumæa.

THE HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

of effective defence. The vast and confused multitude could no. fight, and would not fly. Night put an end to the battle, or rather to the carnage. 10,000 men, with Judas and Silas, fell: Niger escaped with the rest to a small tower named Sallæ. The Jews were not cast down by this signal defeat. In the shortest time, not enough for the wounded to get healed, they assembled all their forces, and in still greater pride and indignation again marched out against Ascalon. They had learned as little prudence as humility. Antonius occupied the passes with an ambush, and suddenly surrounding the Jewish army with his horse, after scarcely any resistance cut down Sooo of them. Niger, who showed great courage in the retreat, again escaped, and got possession of a strong tower in a village called Bezedel. The Romans, who had not time for a regular siege, and yet were unwilling to allow so formidable a leader to escape, set fire to the wall. Having seen the tower in flames, they retreated in triumph. Niger, however, leaped down into a deep cavern, which was under the tower; and when his sorrowing companions came, three days after, to find his body, that they might bury it, they heard his feeble voice calling them from below. were full of joy, and looked on the escape of their champion as little less than a miraculous proof of divine favour. The Jews

BOOK XV.

THE WAR.

Vespasian-Siege of Fotapata-Fall of Fapha-Mount Gerizim-Capture of Fotapata-Josephus-Surrender of Tiberias-Fall of TaricheaMassacre-Siege of Gamala-Fall of Itabyrium-Taking of Gamala— of Gischala-Flight of John-Feuds in Jerusalem.

WITH the early spring Vespasian appeared at Antioch, at the head of his powerful army. There Agrippa met him with all his forces. Vespasian advanced to Ptolemais: he was met by a deputation from Sepphoris. The metropolis of Galilee, notwithstanding the authority and the threats of Josephus, again made overtures to join the invader. Vespasian received the deputies with great courtesy, and sent them back with a strong body of 1000 horse and 6000 foot, to defend their city against any attack of the Jews. These troops, under the command of Placidus, took up their position towards the great plain, the foot within the city, the cavalry encamped without the walls. From these quarters they ravaged the surrounding country. Josephus made one strong effort to recover the capital, but was repulsed, and only the more exasperated the Romans, who spread fire and sword over the whole region; they slew all who were able to bear arms, the rest they carried off as slaves.

Titus, with expedition unusual during the winter season, sailed from Achaia to Alexandria. From thence he shipped his troops for Ptolemais, and joined his father. Vespasian was now at the head of three of the most distinguished legions of the Roman army, the fifth, tenth, and fifteenth. Besides these, he had

twenty-three cohorts, five of them from Cæsarea. Ten of these cohorts mustered 1000 men; the rest 600, with 150 horse each. The allied force consisted of 2000 foot, all archers, and 1000 horse furnished by Antiochus, Agrippa, and Sohemus. Malchus, king of Arabia, sent 1000 horse and 5000 foot, the greatest part archers. The whole army amounted to 60,000 regulars, horse and foot, besides followers of the camp, who were also accustomed to military service, and could fight on occasion.

The campaign was now formally opened: the forces of Placidus overspread the whole country. Josephus attempted no resistance in the open field. The inhabitants had been directed to fly to the fortified cities; all who were not expeditious or