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1. Now at this time the affairs of Syria were in confusion by
Cleopatra's constant persuasions to Antony to make an attempt
upon every body's dominions; for she persuaded him to take those
dominions away from their several princes, and bestow them upon
her; and she had a mighty influence upon him, by reason of his
being enslaved to her by his affections. She was also by nature
very covetous, and stuck at no wickedness. She had already
poisoned her brother, because she knew that he was to be king of
Egypt, and this when he was but fifteen years old; and she got
her sister Arsinoe to be slain, by the means of Antony, when she
was a supplicant at Diana's temple at Ephesus; for if there were
but any hopes of getting money, she would violate both temples
and sepulchers. Nor was there any holy place that was esteemed
the most inviolable, from which she would not fetch the ornaments
it had in it; nor any place so profane, but was to suffer the
most flagitious treatment possible from her, if it could but
contribute somewhat to the covetous humor of this wicked
creature: yet did not all this suffice so extravagant a woman,
who was a slave to her lusts, but she still imagined that she
wanted every thing she could think of, and did her utmost to gain
it; for which reason she hurried Antony on perpetually to deprive
others of their dominions, and give them to her. And as she went
over Syria with him, she contrived to get it into her possession;
so he slew Lysanias, the son of Ptolemy, accusing him of his
bringing the Parthians upon those countries. She also petitioned
Antony to give her Judea and Arabia; and, in order thereto,
desired him to take these countries away from their present
governors. As for Antony, he was so entirely overcome by this
woman, that one would not think her conversation only could do
it, but that he was some way or other bewitched to do whatsoever
she would have him; yet did the grossest parts of her injustice
make him so ashamed, that he would not always hearken to her to
do those flagrant enormities she would have persuaded him to.
That therefore he might not totally deny her, nor, by doing every
thing which she enjoined him, appear openly to be an ill man, he
took some parts of each of those countries away from their former
governors, and gave them to her. Thus he gave her the cities that
were within the river Eleutherus, as far as Egypt, excepting Tyre
and Sidon, which he knew to have been free cities from their
ancestors, although she pressed him very often to bestow those on
her also.
2. When Cleopatra had obtained thus much, and had accompanied
Antony in his expedition to Armenia as far as Euphrates, she
returned back, and came to Apamia and Damascus, and passed on to
Judea, where Herod met her, and farmed of her parts of Arabia,
and those revenues that came to her from the region about
Jericho. This country bears that balsam, which is the most
precious drug that is there, and grows there alone. The place
bears also palm trees, both many in number, and those excellent
in their kind. When she was there, and was very often with Herod,
she endeavored to have criminal conversation with the king; nor
did she affect secrecy in the indulgence of such sort of
pleasures; and perhaps she had in some measure a passion of love
to him; or rather, what is most probable, she laid a treacherous
snare for him, by aiming to obtain such adulterous conversation
from him: however, upon the whole, she seemed overcome with love
to him. Now Herod had a great while borne no good-will to
Cleopatra, as knowing that she was a woman irksome to all; and at
that time he thought her particularly worthy of his hatred, if
this attempt proceeded out of lust; he had also thought of
preventing her intrigues, by putting her to death, if such were
her endeavors. However, he refused to comply with her proposals,
and called a counsel of his friends to consult with them whether
he should not kill her, now he had her in his power; for that he
should thereby deliver all those from a multitude of evils to
whom she was already become irksome, and was expected to be still
so for the time to come; and that this very thing would be much
for the advantage of Antony himself, since she would certainly
not be faithful to him, in case any such season or necessity
should come upon him as that he should stand in need of her
fidelity. But when he thought to follow this advice, his friends
would not let him; and told him that, in the first place, it was
not right to attempt so great a thing, and run himself thereby
into the utmost danger; and they laid hard at him, and begged of
him to undertake nothing rashly, for that Antony would never bear
it, no, not though any one should evidently lay before his eyes
that it was for his own advantage; and that the appearance of
depriving him of her conversation, by this violent and
treacherous method, would probably set his affections more on a
flame than before. Nor did it appear that he could offer any
thing of tolerable weight in his defense, this attempt being
against such a woman as was of the highest dignity of any of her
sex at that time in the world; and as to any advantage to be
expected from such an undertaking, if any such could be supposed
in this case, it would appear to deserve condemnation, on account
of the insolence he must take upon him in doing it: which
considerations made it very plain that in so doing he would find
his government filled with mischief, both great and lasting, both
to himself and his posterity, whereas it was still in his power
to reject that wickedness she would persuade him to, and to come
off honorably at the same time. So by thus affrighting Herod, and
representing to him the hazard he must, in all probability, run
by this undertaking, they restrained him from it. So he treated
Cleopatra kindly, and made her presents, and conducted her on her
way to Egypt.
3. But Antony subdued Armenia, and sent Artabazes, the son of
Tigranes, in bonds, with his children and procurators, to Egypt,
and made a present of them, and of all the royal ornaments which
he had taken out of that kingdom, to Cleopatra. And Artaxias, the
eldest of his sons, who had escaped at that time, took the
kingdom of Armenia; who yet was ejected by Archclaus and Nero
Caesar, when they restored Tigranes, his younger brother, to that
kingdom; but this happened a good while afterward.
4. But then, as to the tributes which Herod was to pay Cleopatra
for that country which Antony had given her, he acted fairly with
her, as deeming it not safe for him to afford any cause for
Cleopatra to hate him. As for the king of Arabia, whose tribute
Herod had undertaken to pay her, for some time indeed he paid him
as much as came to two hundred talents; but he afterwards became
very niggardly and slow in his payments, and could hardly be
brought to pay some parts of it, and was not willing to pay even
them without some deductions.
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