ter was brought by costly aqueducts from a great distance. Thus, terrible to his adversaries, generally courteous, affable, and bounteous to his countrymen and to strangers, securing his interests with Rome and its rulers by the most costly adulation, Herod steadily pursued his policy of counterbalancing, by a strong Grecian party, the turbulent and exclusive spirit of his Jewish subjects. More completely to secure this object, he determined to found a powerful city, chiefly colonized with Grecians, and dedicated to the name of his great Roman protector. Samaria he had already called Sebaste, (the August;) the new city was to take the name of Casarea. He chose a maritime situation, for the advantage of commerce, and may have thought of uniting in his new city the wealth of ancient Tyre with the greatness of Jerusalem.

There was a small town called the tower of Straton, midway between Joppa and Dora. It possessed a haven, like all the rest on that coast, dangerous on account of the violent south-western winds, against which they had no protection. He first formed a strong mole, or break-water, by sinking stones fifty feet long, eighteen wide, and nine deep. On this arose a pier two hundred feet wide, defended by a wall and towers. The entrance to this great artificial haven was from the north; and a vast fleet could thus ride in perfect safety, in a sort of double harbour. All round ran a noble quay or esplanade, and, probably, under this, were arched buildings for the entertainment and residence of mariners. Above, the city rose like an amphitheatre, in a uniform line of sumptuous palaces. The subterranean arches, for drainage and other purposes, were on so great a scale, that Josephus says, there was as much building below ground as above. In the centre stood a great temple dedicated to Cæsar, with two colossal statues, one of Rome, the other of Cæsar. A theatre and amphitheatre, the customary ornaments of a Grecian city, were not forgotten. Cæsarea was twelve years before it was completed.

Thus Judæa was fast sinking into a province of the Roman empire; and Herod, instead of head of the Hebrew re

ligious republic, became more and more on a level with the other vassal kings of Rome. His elder sons by Mariamne, Alexander and Aristobulus, were not brought up in Jewish tenets or customs, but sent to Rome for their education, where they were received into the palace of Augustus, and treated with great care and distinction. Nothing could exceed the estimation in which Herod stood, both with the emperor and his favourite, Agrippa. Cæsar was said to assign Herod the next place in his favour to Agrippa; Agrippa to esteem Herod higher than any of his friends, except Augustus. Whenever either visited the eastern provinces, Herod was the first to pay his homage. To see Agrippa, he sailed to Mytelene, and afterward entertained Augustus himself in Syria. On one occasion, when Agrippa was engaged in war near the Bosphorus, Herod suddenly appeared with a large fleet, and through all the campaign assisted him with his personal support and advice.

Herod took advantage of this alliance to enlarge his dominions. A district to the east of the sea of Genesareth was farmed by a certain Zenodorus. This man maintained a suspicious connexion with the freebooters who dwelt in the mountain caves of Trachonitis. The whole province was made over to Herod, who, with his customary rigour and severity, suppressed and hunted down the robbers. The mode in which Herod destroyed them is thus described by Josephus.

But as for Herod, he went in haste against the robbers that were in the caves, and sent Silo away to Ventidius, while he marched against them. These caves were in the mountains that were exceeding abrupt, and in their middle were no other than precipices, with certain entrances into the caves; and those caves were encompassed with sharp rocks; and in these did the robbers lie concealed, with all their families about them. But the king caused certain chests to be made in order to destroy them, and to be hung down, bound about with iron chains, by an engine from the top of the mountain, it being not possible to get up to them, by rea

any

son of the sharp ascent of the mountains, nor to creep down to them from above. Now these chests were filled with armed men, who had long hooks in their hands, by which they might pull out such as resisted them, and then tumble them down, and kill them by so doing; but the letting the chests down proved to be a matter of great danger, because of the vast depth they were to be let down, although they had their provisions in the chests themselves. But when the chests were let down, and not one of those in the mouths of the caves durst come near them, but lay still out of fear, some of the armed men girt on their armour, and by both their hands took hold of the chain by which the chests were let down, and went into the mouths of the caves, because they fretted that such delay was made, by the robbers not daring to come out of the caves; and when they were at of those mouths, they first killed many of those that were in the mouths with their darts, and afterwards pulled those to them that resisted them with their hooks, and tumbled them down the precipices, and afterwards went into the caves and killed many more, and then went into their chests again, and lay still there; but, upon this, terror seized the rest when they heard the lamentations that were made, and they despaired of escaping. However, when the night came on, that put an end to the whole work; and as the king proclaimed pardon by a herald to such as delivered themselves up to him, many accepted of the offer. The same method of assault was made use of the next day; and they went farther, and got out in baskets to fight them, and fought them at their doors, and sent fire among them, and set their caves on fire; for there was a great deal of combustibie matter within them. Now there was one old man who was caught within one of these caves, with seven children and a wife: these prayed him to give them leave to go out, and yield themselves up to the enemy: but he stood at the cave's mouth, and always slew that child of his who went out, till he had destroyed them every one; and after that he slew his wife, and cast their dead bodies down the precipice, and him