by G. A. Henty
Chapter 3: The Revolt Against Rome.
That evening the Rabbi Solomon Ben Manasseh came in, and wasinformed of the offer which Josephus had made.
"You were present, rabbi," Simon said, "at the events which tookplace in Jerusalem, and at the defeat of Cestius. John has beenasking me to tell him more about these matters for, now that he isto be with the governor, it is well that he should be wellacquainted with public affairs."
"I will willingly tell him the history for, as you say, it is rightthat the young man should be well acquainted with the public eventsand the state of parties and, though the story must be somewhatlong, I will try and not make it tedious.
"The first tumult broke out in Caesarea, and began by frays betweenour people and the Syrian Greeks. Felix the governor took the partof the Greeks; and many of our people were killed, and moreplundered. When Felix was recalled to Rome, we sent a deputationthere with charges against him; but the Greeks, by means ofbribery, obtained a decree against us, depriving the Jews ofCaesarea of rights of equal citizenship. From this constanttroubles arose but, outside Caesarea, Festus kept all quiet;putting down robbers, as well as impostors who led the peopleastray.
"Then there came trouble in Jerusalem. King Agrippa's palace stoodon Mount Zion, looking towards the Temple; and he built a loftystory, from whose platform he could command a view of the courts ofthe Temple, and watch the sacrifices. Our people resented thisimpious intrusion, and built a high wall to cut off the view.Agrippa demanded its destruction, on the ground that it interceptedthe view of the Roman guard. We appealed to Nero, and sent to him adeputation; headed by Ismael, the high priest, and Hilkiah, thetreasurer. They obtained an order for the wall to be allowed tostand, but Ismael and Hilkiah were detained at Rome. Agrippathereupon appointed another high priest--Joseph--but, soonafterwards, nominated Annas in his place.
"When Festus--the Roman governor--was away, Annas put to death manyof the sect called Christians, to gratify the Sadducees. The peoplewere indignant, for these men had done no harm; and Agrippadeprived him of the priesthood and appointed Jesus, son of Damnai.Then, unhappily, Festus--who was a just and good governor--died,and Albinus succeeded him. He was a man greedy of money, and readyto do anything for gain. He took bribes from robbers, andencouraged, rather than repressed, evil doers. There was open war,in the streets, between the followers of various chief robbers.Albinus opened the prisons, and filled the city with malefactors;and, at the completion of the works at the Temple, eighteenthousand workmen were discharged, and thus the city was filled withmen ready to sell their services to the highest bidders.
"Albinus was succeeded by Gessius Florus, who was even worse thanAlbinus. This man was a great friend of Cestius Gallus, whocommanded the Roman troops in Syria; and who, therefore, scoffed atthe complaints of the people against Florus.
"At this time, strange prodigies appeared in Rome. A sword of firehung above the city, for a whole year. The inner gate of theTemple--which required twenty men to move it--opened by itself;chariots and armed squadrons were seen in the heavens and, worsethan all, the priests in the Temple heard a great movement, and asound of many voices, which said:
"'Let us depart hence!'
"So things went on, in Jerusalem, until the old feud at Caesareabroke out afresh. The trouble, this time, began about one of oursynagogues. The land around it belonged to a Greek and, for this,our people offered a high price. The heathen who owned it refusedand, to annoy us, raised mean houses round the synagogue. TheJewish youths interrupted the workmen; and the wealthier of thecommunity--headed by John, a publican--subscribed eight talents,and sent them to Florus as a bribe, that he might order thebuilding to be stopped.
"Florus took the money, and made many promises; but the evil mandesired that a revolt should take place, in order that he mightgain great plunder. So he went away from Caesarea, and did nothing;and a great tumult arose between the heathen and our people. Inthis we were worsted, and went away from the city; while John, withtwelve of the highest rank, went to Samaria to lay the matterbefore Florus; who threw them into prison--doubtless the more toexcite the people--and at the same time sent to Jerusalem, anddemanded seventeen talents from the treasury of the Temple.
"The people burst into loud outcries, and Florus advanced upon thecity with all his force. But we knew that we could not oppose theRomans; and so received Florus, on his arrival, with acclamations.But this did not suit the tyrant. The next morning he ordered histroops to plunder the upper market, and to put to death all theymet. The soldiers obeyed, and slew three thousand six hundred men,women, and children.
"You may imagine, John, the feelings of grief and rage which filledevery heart. The next day the multitude assembled in themarketplace, wailing for the dead and cursing Florus. But theprincipal men of the city, with the priests, tore their robes andwent among them, praying them to disperse and not to provoke theanger of the governor. The people obeyed their voices, and wentquietly home.
"But Florus was not content that matters should end so. He sent forthe priests and leaders, and commanded them to go forth andreceive, with acclamations of welcome, two cohorts of troops whowere advancing from Caesarea. The priests called the peopletogether in the Temple and, with difficulty, persuaded them to obeythe order. The troops, having orders from Florus, fell upon thepeople and trampled them down and, driving the multitude beforethem, entered the city; and at the same time Florus sallied outfrom his palace, with his troops, and both parties pressed forwardto gain the Castle of Antonia, whose possession would lay theTemple open to them, and enable Florus to gain the sacred treasuresdeposited there.
"But, as soon as the people perceived their object, they rantogether in such vast crowds that the Roman soldiers could not cuttheir way through the mass which blocked up the streets; while themore active men, going up on to the roofs, hurled down stones andmissiles upon the troops.
"What a scene was that, John! I was on the portico near Antonia,and saw it all. It was terrible to hear the shouts of the soldiers,as they strove to hew their way through the defenseless people; thewar cries of our own youths, the shrieks and wailings of the women.While the Romans were still striving, our people broke down thegalleries connecting Antonia with the Temple; and Florus, seeingthat he could not carry out his object, ordered his troops toretire to their quarters and, calling the chief priests and therulers, proposed to leave the city, leaving behind him one cohortto preserve the peace.
"As soon as he had done so, he sent to Cestius Gallus lyingaccounts of the tumults, laying all the blame upon us; while we andBernice, the sister of King Agrippa--who had tried, in vain, toobtain mercy for the people from Florus--sent complaints againsthim. Cestius was moving to Jerusalem--to inquire into the matter,as he said, but really to restore Florus--when, fortunately, KingAgrippa arrived from Egypt.
"While he was yet seven miles from the city, a procession of thepeople met him, headed by the women whose husbands had been slain.These, with cries and wailings, called on Agrippa for protection;and related to a centurion, whom Cestius had sent forward, and whomet Agrippa on the way, the cruelty of Florus. When the king andthe centurion arrived in the city, they were taken to themarketplace and shown the houses where the inhabitants had beenmassacred.
"Agrippa called the people together and, taking his seat on a loftydais, with Bernice by his side, harangued them. He assured themthat, when the emperor heard what had been done, he would send abetter governor to them, in the place of Florus. He told them thatit was vain to hope for independence, for that the Romans hadconquered all the nations in the world; and that the Jews could notcontend against them, and that war would bring about thedestruction of the city, and the Temple. The people exclaimed theyhad taken up arms, not against the Romans, but against Florus.
"Agrippa urged us to pay our tribute, and repair the galleries.This was willingly done. We sent out leading men to collect thearrears of tribute, and these soon brought in forty talents. Allwas going on well, until Agrippa tried to persuade us to rece
iveFlorus, till the emperor should send another governor. At thethought of the return of Florus, a mad rage seized the people. Theypoured abuse upon Agrippa, threw stones at him, and ordered him toleave the city. This he did, and retired to his own kingdom.
"The upper class, and all those who possessed wisdom enough to knowhow great was the power of Rome, still strove for peace. But thepeople were beyond control. They seized the fortress of Masada--avery strong place near the Dead Sea--and put the Roman garrison tothe sword. But what was even worse, Eleazar--son of Ananias, thechief priest--persuaded the priests to reject the offeringsregularly made, in the name of the emperor, to the God of theHebrews; and to make a regulation that, from that time, noforeigner should be allowed to sacrifice in the Temple.
"The chief priests, with the heads of the Pharisees, addressed thepeople in the quadrangle of the Temple, before the eastern gate. I,myself, was one of those who spoke. We told them that the Templehad long benefited by the splendid gifts of strangers; and that itwas not only inhospitable, but impious, to preclude them fromoffering victims, and worshiping God, there. We, who were learnedin the law, showed them that it was an ancient and immemorial usageto receive the offerings of strangers; and that this refusal toaccept the Roman gifts was nothing short of a declaration of war.
"But all we could do, or say, availed nothing. The influence ofEleazar was too great. A madness had seized the people, and theyrejected all our words; but the party of peace made one moreeffort. They sent a deputation--headed by Simon, son of Ananias--toFlorus, and another to Agrippa, praying them to march uponJerusalem, and reassert their authority, before it was too late.Florus made no reply, for things were going just as he wished; butAgrippa, anxious to preserve the city, sent three thousandhorsemen, commanded by Darius and Philip. When these troopsarrived, the party of peace took possession of the upper city;while Eleazar and the war party held the Temple.
"For a week, fighting went on between the two parties. Then, at thefestival of the Wood Carrying, great numbers of the poorer peoplewere allowed by the party of the chief priest to pass through theirlines; and go, as usual, to the Temple. When there, these joinedthe party of Eleazar, and a great attack was made on the uppercity. The troops of Darius and Philip gave way. The house ofAnanias--the high priest--and the palaces of Agrippa and Bernicewere burned, and also the public archives. Here all the bonds ofthe debtors were registered and, thus, at one blow the power of therich over the poor was destroyed. Ananias himself, and a fewothers, escaped into the upper towers of the palace, which theyheld.
"The next day, Eleazar's party attacked the fortress of Antonia,which was feebly garrisoned and, after two days' fighting, capturedit, and slew the garrison. Manahem, the son of Judas the Zealot,arrived two days later, while the people were besieging the palace.He was accepted as general, by them; and took charge of the siege.Having mined under one of the towers, they brought it to theground, and the garrison asked for terms. Free passage was grantedto the troops of Agrippa, and the Jews; but none was granted to theRoman soldiers, who were few in number and retreated to the threegreat towers, Hippicus, Phasaelus, and Mariamne.
"The palace was entered, and Ananias and Hezekiah--hisbrother--were found in hiding, and put to death. Manahem nowassumed the state of a king; but Eleazar, unwilling that, afterhaving led the enterprise, the fruits should be gathered byanother, stirred up the people against him, and he was slain. Thethree towers were now besieged; and Metilius--the Romancommander--finding he could no longer hold out, agreed tosurrender, on the condition that his men should deliver up theirarms, and be allowed to march away, unharmed.
"The terms were accepted and ratified but, as soon as the Romansoldiers marched out, and laid down their arms, Eleazar and hisfollowers fell upon them and slew them; Metilius himself being,alone, spared. After this terrible massacre, a sadness fell on thecity. All felt that there was no longer any hope of makingconditions with Rome. We had placed ourselves beyond the pale offorgiveness. It was war, to the death, with Rome.
"Up to this time, as I have told you, I was one of those who hadlabored to maintain peace. I had fought in the palace, by the sideof Ananias; and had left it only when the troops, and we of theirparty, were permitted to march out when it surrendered. But, fromthis time, I took another part. All hope of peace, of concessions,or of conditions was at an end. There remained nothing now but tofight and, as the vengeance of Rome would fall on the whole Jewishpeople, it was for the whole Jewish people to unite in the strugglefor existence.
"On the very day and hour in which the Romans were put to death,retribution began to fall upon the nation; for the Greeks ofCaesarea rose suddenly, and massacred the Jews. Twenty thousandwere slain, in a single day. The news of these two massacres drovethe whole people to madness. They rose throughout the land, laidwaste the country all round the cities of Syria--Philadelphia,Sebonitis, Gerasa, Pella, and Scythopolis--and burned and destroyedmany places.
"The Syrians, in turn, fell upon the Jewish inhabitants of alltheir towns; and a frightful carnage, everywhere, took place. Then,our people made an inroad into the domains of Scythopolis but,though the Jewish inhabitants there joined the Syrians in defendingtheir territory, the Syrians doubted their fidelity and, fallingupon them in the night, slew them all, and seized their property.Thirteen thousand perished here. In many other cities, the samethings were done; in Ascalon, two thousand five hundred were put tothe sword; in Ptolemais, two thousand were killed. The land wasdeluged with blood, and despair fell upon all.
"Even in Alexandria, our countrymen suffered. Breaking out into aquarrel with the Greeks, a tumult arose; and Tiberias Alexander,the governor--by faith a Jew--tried to pacify matters; but themadness which had seized the people, here, had fallen also upon theJews of Alexandria. They heaped abuse upon Alexander, who wasforced to send the troops against them. The Jews fought, butvainly; and fifty thousand men, women, and children fell.
"While blood was flowing over the land, Cestius Gallus--theprefect--was preparing for invasion. He had with him the TwelfthLegion, forty-two hundred strong; two thousand picked men, takenfrom the other legions; six cohorts of foot, about twenty-fivehundred; and four troops of horse, twelve hundred. Of allies hehad, from Antiochus, two thousand horse and three thousand foot;from Agrippa, one thousand horse and three thousand foot; Sohemusjoined him with four thousand men--a third of whom were horse, therest archers. Thus he had ten thousand Roman troops, and thirteenthousand allies; besides many volunteers, who joined him from theSyrian cities.
"After burning and pillaging Zebulon, and wasting the district,Cestius returned to Ptolemais, and then advanced to Caesarea. Hesent forward a part of his army to Joppa. The city was open, and noresistance was offered; nevertheless, the Romans slew all, to thenumber of eight thousand five hundred. The cities of Galilee openedtheir gates, without resistance, and Cestius advanced againstJerusalem.
"When he arrived within six miles of the town, the Jews poured out;and fell upon them with such fury that, if the horse and lighttroops had not made a circuit, and fallen upon us in the rear, Ibelieve we should have destroyed the whole army. But we were forcedto fall back, having killed over five hundred. As the Romans movedforward, Simon--son of Gioras--with a band, pressed them closely inrear; and slew many, and carried off numbers of their beasts ofburden.
"Agrippa now tried, once more, to make peace, and sent a deputationto persuade us to surrender--offering, in the name of Cestius,pardon for all that had passed--but Eleazar's party, fearing thepeople might listen to him, fell upon the deputation, slew some,and drove the others back.
"Cestius advanced within a mile of Jerusalem and--after waitingthree days, in hopes that the Jews would surrender, and knowingthat many of the chief persons were friendly to him--he advanced tothe attack, took the suburb of Bezetha, and encamped opposite thepalace in the upper city. The people discovered that Ananias andhis friends had agreed to open the gates; and so slew them, andthrew the bodies over the wall. The Romans for five days attackedand, on the sixth,
Cestius, with the flower of his army made anassault; but the people fought bravely and, disregarding theflights of arrows which the archers shot against them, held thewalls, and poured missiles of all kinds upon the enemy; until atlast, just as it seemed to all that the Romans would succeed inmining the walls, and firing the gates, Cestius called off histroops.
"Had he not done so, he would speedily have taken the city; for thepeace party were on the point of seizing one of the gates, andopening it. I no longer belonged to this party; for it seemed to methat it was altogether too late, now, to make terms; nor could weexpect that the Romans would keep to their conditions, after we hadset them the example of breaking faith.
"Cestius fell back to his camp, a mile distant, but he had no restthere. Exultant at seeing a retreat from their walls, all thepeople poured out, and fell upon the Romans with fury.
"The next morning Cestius began to retreat; but we swarmed aroundhim, pressing upon his rear, and dashing down from the hills uponhis flanks, giving him no rest. The heavy-armed Romans could donothing against us; but marched steadily on--leaving numbers ofdead behind them--till they reached their former camp at Gabao, sixmiles away. Here Cestius waited two days but, seeing how the hillsaround him swarmed with our people, who flocked in from allquarters, he gave the word for a further retreat; killing all thebeasts of burden, and leaving all the baggage behind, and taking ononly those animals which bore the arrows and engines of war. Thenhe marched down the valley, towards Bethoron.
"The multitude felt now that their enemy was delivered into theirhands. Was it not in Bethoron that Joshua had defeated theCanaanites, while the sun stayed his course? Was it not here thatJudas, the Maccabean, had routed the host of Nicanor? As soon asthe Romans entered the defile, the Jews rushed down upon them, sureof their prey.
"The Roman horse were powerless to act. The men of the legionscould not climb the rocky sides and, from every point, javelins,stones, and arrows were poured down upon them; and all would havebeen slain, had not night come on and hidden them from us, andenabled them to reach Bethoron.
"What rejoicings were there not, on the hills that night, as welooked down on their camp there; and thought that, in the morning,they would be ours! Fires burned on every crest. Hymns of praise,and exulting cries, arose everywhere in the darkness; but the watchwas not kept strictly enough. Cestius left four hundred of hisbravest men to mount guard, and keep the fires alight--so that wemight think that all his army was there--and then, with the rest,he stole away.
"In the morning, we saw that the camp was well-nigh deserted and,furious at the escape of our foes, rushed down, slew the fourhundred whom Cestius had left behind, and then set out in pursuit.But Cestius had many hours' start and, though we followed as far asAntipatris, we could not overtake him; and so returned, with muchrich spoil, and all the Roman engines of war, to Jerusalem--having,with scarcely any loss, defeated a great Roman army, and slain fivethousand three hundred foot, and three hundred and eighty horse.
"Such is the history of events which have brought about the presentstate of things. As you see, there is no hope of pardon, or mercy,from Rome. We have offended beyond forgiveness. But the madnessagainst which I fought so hard, at first, is still upon the people.They provoked the power of Rome; and then, by breaking the terms,and massacring the Roman garrison, they went far beyond the firstoffense of insurrection. By the destruction of the army of Cestius,they struck a heavy blow against the pride of the Romans. Forgenerations, no such misfortune had fallen upon their arms.
"What, then, would a sane people have done since? Surely they wouldhave spent every moment in preparing themselves for the struggle.Every man should have been called to arms. The passes should havebeen all fortified, for it is among the hills that we can best copewith the heavy Roman troops. The cities best calculated for defenseshould have been strongly walled; preparations made for places ofrefuge, among the mountains, for the women and children; largedepots of provisions gathered up, in readiness for the strife. Thatwe could ever, in the long run, hope to resist, successfully, themight of Rome was out of the question; but we might so sternly, andvaliantly, have resisted as to be able to obtain fair terms, on oursubmission.
"Instead of this, men go on as if Rome had no existence; and weonly show an energy in quarreling among ourselves. At bottom, itwould seem that the people rely upon our God doing great things forus, as he did when he smote the Assyrian army of Sennacherib; andsuch is my hope, also, seeing that, so far, a wonderful success hasattended us. And yet, how can one expect the Divine assistance, ina war so begun and so conducted--for a people who turn their swordsagainst each other, who spend their strength in civil feuds, whoneither humble themselves, nor repent of the wickedness of theirways?
"Alas, my son, though I speak brave words to the people, my heartis very sad; and I fear that troubles, like those which fell uponus when we were carried captive into Babylon, await us now!"
There was silence, as the rabbi finished. John had, of course,heard something of the events which had been taking place but, ashe now heard them, in sequence, the gravity and danger of thesituation came freshly upon him.
"What can be done?" he asked, after a long pause.
"Nothing, save to pray to the Lord," the rabbi said, sorrowfully."Josephus is doing what he can, towards building walls to thetowns; but it is not walls, but soldiers that are wanted and, solong as the people remain blind and indifferent to the danger,thinking of naught save tilling their ground, and laying up money,nothing can be done."
"Then will destruction come upon all?" John asked, looking round ina bewildered and hopeless way.
"We may hope not," the rabbi said. "Here in Galilee, we have had noshare in the events in Jerusalem; and many towns, even now, arefaithful to the Romans. Therefore it may be that, in this province,all will not be involved in the lot of Jerusalem. There can be,unless a mighty change takes place, no general resistance to theRomans; and it may be, therefore, that no general destruction willfall upon the people. As to this, none can say.
"Vespasian--the Roman general who has been charged, by Nero, withthe command of the army which is gathering against us--is said tobe a merciful man, as well as a great commander. The Roman merciesare not tender, but it may be that the very worst may not fall uponthis province. The men of spirit and courage will, doubtless,proceed to Jerusalem to share in the defense of the Holy City. Ifwe cannot fight with success, here, it is far better that the menshould fight at Jerusalem; leaving their wives and families here,and doing naught to call down the vengeance of the Romans upon thisprovince.
"In Galilee there have, as elsewhere, been risings against theRomans; but these will count for little, in their eyes, incomparison to the terrible deeds at Jerusalem; and I pray, for thesake of all my friends here, that the Romans may march through theland, on their way to Jerusalem, without burning and wasting thecountry. Here, on the eastern shore of Galilee, there is much morehope of escape than there is across the lake. Not only are we outof the line of the march of the army, but there are few importantcities on this side; and the disposition of the people has not beenso hostile to the Romans.
"My own opinion is that, when the Romans advance, it will be theduty of every Jew who can bear arms to go down to the defense ofthe Holy City. Its position is one of vast strength. We shall havenumbers, and courage, though neither order nor discipline; and itmay be that, at the last, the Lord will defend his sanctuary, andsave it from destruction at the hands of the heathen. Should it notbe so, we can but die; and how could a Jew better die than indefense of God's Temple?"
"It would have been better," Simon said, "had we not, by our evildoings, have brought God's Temple into danger."
"He has suffered it," the rabbi said, "and his ways are not theways of man. It may be that He has suffered such madness to fallupon, us in order that His name may, at last, be glorified."
"May it be so!" Simon said piously; "and now, let us to bed, forthe hour is growing late."
The following morning Simon,
his wife, and the whole householdaccompanied John to the shore; as Simon had arranged with one ofthe boatmen to take the lad to Hippos. The distance was but short;but Simon, when his wife had expressed surprise at his sending Johnin a boat, said:
"It is not the distance, Martha. A half-hour's walk is naught tothe lad; but I had reasons, altogether apart from the question ofdistance. John is going out to play a man's part. He is young but,since my lord Josephus has chosen to place him among those who formhis bodyguard, he has a right to claim to be regarded as a man.That being so, I would not accompany him to Hippos; for it wouldseem like one leading a child, and it were best to let him go byhimself.
"Again, it were better to have but one parting. Here he willreceive my blessing, and say goodbye to us all. Doubtless he willoften be with us, for Tiberias lies within sight and, so long asJosephus remains in Galilee, he will never be more than a longday's journey from home. The lad loves us, and will come as oftenas he can but, surrounded as Josephus is by dangers, the boy willnot be able to get away on his own business. He must take theduties, as well as the honor of the office; and we must not blindourselves to the fact that, in one of these popular tumults, greatdanger and even death may come upon him.
"This seems to you terrible," he went on, in answer to anexclamation of alarm from Martha; "but it does not seem so terribleto me. We go on planting, and gathering in, as if no dangerthreatened us, and the evil day were far off; but it is not so. TheRoman hosts are gathering, and we are wasting our strength, inparty strife, and are doing naught to prepare against the storm. Wehave gone to war, without counting the cost. We have affronted andput to shame Rome, before whom all nations bow and, assuredly, shewill take a terrible vengeance. Another year, and who can say whowill be alive, and who dead--who will be wandering over the wastedfields of our people, or who will be a slave, in Rome!
"In the times that are at hand, no man's life will be worthanything; and therefore I say, wife, that though there be dangerand peril around the lad, let us not trouble overmuch; for he is,like all of us, in God's hands."
Therefore, the parting took place on the shore. Simon solemnlyblessed John, and his mother cried over him. Mary was a littlesurprised at these demonstrations, at what she regarded as a verytemporary separation; but her merry spirits were subdued at thesight of her aunt's tears, although she, herself, saw nothing tocry about.
She brightened up, however, when John whispered, as he said goodbyeto her:
"I shall come across the lake, as often as I can, to see how youare getting on, Mary."
Then he took his place in the stern of the boat. The fishermendipped their oars in the water, and the boat drew away from thelittle group, who stood watching it as it made its way across thesparkling water to Hippos.
Upon landing, John at once went to the house where Josephus waslodging. The latter gave him in charge to the leader of the littlegroup of men who had attached themselves to him, as his bodyguard.
"Joab," he said, "this youth will, henceforth, make one of yourparty. He is brave and, I think, ready and quick witted. Give himarms and see that he has all that is needful. Being young, he willbe able to mingle unsuspected among the crowds; and may obtaintidings of evil intended me, when men would not speak, maybe,before others whom they might judge my friends. He will be able tobear messages, unsuspected; and may prove of great service to thecause."
John found, at once, that there was nothing like discipline, orregular duties, among the little band who constituted the bodyguardof Josephus. They were simply men who, from affection for thegovernor, and a hatred for those who, by their plots andconspiracies, would undo the good work he was accomplishing, hadleft their farms and occupations to follow and guard him.
Every Jewish boy received a certain training in the use of weapons,in order to be prepared to fight in the national army, when the dayof deliverance should arrive; but beyond that, the Jews had nomilitary training, whatever. Their army would be simply a gatheringof the men capable of bearing arms, throughout the land--each readyto give his life, for his faith and his country; relying, liketheir forefathers, on the sword of the Lord and Israel, but withoutthe slightest idea of military drill, discipline, or tactics. Suchan army might fight bravely, might die nobly, but it could havelittle chance of victory over the well-trained legions of imperialRome.
At noon, Josephus embarked in a galley with his little band offollowers--eight in number--and sailed across the lake to Tiberias.Here they landed, and went up to the house in which Josephus alwaysdwelt, when in that city. His stay there was generally short,Tarichea being his general abode--for there he felt in safety, theinhabitants being devoted to him; while those of Tiberias were everready to follow the advice of the disaffected, and a section wereeager for the return of the Romans, and the renewal of the businessand trade which had brought wealth to the city, before the troublesbegan.
That evening, Josephus sent for John, and said:
"I purpose, in two days, to go to Tarichea, where I shall spend theSabbath. I hear that there is a rumor that many of the citizenshave, privately, sent to King Agrippa asking him to send hitherRoman troops, and promising them a good reception. The men with meare known, to many in the city, and would be shunned by my enemies,and so would hear naught of what is going on; therefore, I purposeto leave you here.
"In the morning, go early to the house of Samuel, the son ofGideon. He dwells in the street called that of Tarichea, for itleadeth in the direction of that town. He is a tanner, by trade;and you will have no difficulty in finding it. He has been here,this evening, and I have spoken to him about you and, when youpresent yourself to him, he will take you in. Thus, no one willknow that you are of my company.
"Pass your time in the streets and, when you see groups of peopleassemble, join yourself to them and gather what they are saying. Ifit is ought that is important for me to know, come here and tell meor, if it be after I have departed for Tarichea, bring me the newsthere. It is but thirty furlongs distant."
John followed up the instructions given him, and was hospitablyreceived by Samuel the tanner.
In the course of the day, a number of the citizens called uponJosephus and begged him, at once, to set about building walls forthe town, as he had already built them for Tarichea. When heassured them that he had already made preparations for doing so,and that the builders should set to work, forthwith, they appearedsatisfied; and the city remained perfectly tranquil until Josephusleft, the next morning, for Tarichea.