No More Learning

They are a wonderful sight and seem from
a distance to be all of equal height. Within this runs another line of
fortification surrounding the palace, and on a conspicuous height
stands the Antonia, a castle named by Herod in honour of Mark Antony.

The temple was built like a citadel with walls of its own, on 12
which more care and labour had been spent than on any of the others.
Even the cloisters surrounding the temple formed a splendid rampart.
There was a never-failing spring of water,[512] catacombs hollowed out
of the hills, and pools or cisterns for holding the rain-water. Its
original builders had foreseen that the peculiarities of Jewish life
would lead to frequent wars, consequently everything was ready for the
longest of sieges. Besides this, when Pompey took the city, bitter
experience taught them several lessons, and in the days of Claudius
they had taken advantage of his avarice to buy rights of
fortification, and built walls in peace-time as though war were
imminent. Their numbers were now swelled by floods of human refuse and
unfortunate refugees from other towns. [513] All the most desperate
characters in the country had taken refuge there, which did not
conduce to unity. They had three armies, each with its own general.
The outermost and largest line of wall was held by Simon; the central
city by John, and the temple by Eleazar. [514] John and Simon were
stronger than Eleazar in numbers and equipment, but he had the
advantage of a strong position. Their relations mainly consisted of
fighting, treachery, and arson: a large quantity of corn was burnt.
Eventually, under pretext of offering a sacrifice, John sent a party
of men to massacre Eleazar and his troops, and by this means gained
possession of the temple. [515] Thus Jerusalem was divided into two
hostile parties, but on the approach of the Romans the necessities of
foreign warfare reconciled their differences.
Various portents had occurred at this time, but so sunk in 13
superstition are the Jews and so opposed to all religious practices
that they think it wicked to avert the threatened evil by
sacrifices[516] or vows. Embattled armies were seen to meet in the sky
with flashing arms, and the temple shone with sudden fire from heaven.
The doors of the shrine suddenly opened, a supernatural voice was
heard calling the gods out, and at once there began a mighty movement
of departure. Few took alarm at all this. Most people held the belief
that, according to the ancient priestly writings, this was the moment
at which the East was fated to prevail: they would now start forth
from Judaea and conquer the world. [517] This enigmatic prophecy really
applied to Vespasian and Titus. But men are blinded by their hopes.
The Jews took to themselves the promised destiny, and even defeat
could not convince them of the truth. The number of the besieged, men
and women of every age, is stated to have reached six hundred
thousand. There were arms for all who could carry them, and far more
were ready to fight than would be expected from their total numbers.
The women were as determined as the men: if they were forced to leave
their homes they had more to fear in life than in death.

Such was the city and such the people with which Titus was faced. As
the nature of the ground forbade a sudden assault, he determined to
employ siege-works and penthouse shelters. The work was accordingly
divided among the legions, and there was a truce to fighting until
they had got ready every means of storming a town that had ever been
devised by experience or inventive ingenuity.

FOOTNOTES:

[460] A. D.