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1. But now Pilate, the procurator of Judea, removed the army from
Cesarea to Jerusalem, to take their winter quarters there, in
order to abolish the Jewish laws. So he introduced Caesar's
effigies, which were upon the ensigns, and brought them into the
city; whereas our law forbids us the very making of images; on
which account the former procurators were wont to make their
entry into the city with such ensigns as had not those ornaments.
Pilate was the first who brought those images to Jerusalem, and
set them up there; which was done without the knowledge of the
people, because it was done in the night time; but as soon as
they knew it, they came in multitudes to Cesarea, and interceded
with Pilate many days that he would remove the images; and when
he would not grant their requests, because it would tend to the
injury of Caesar, while yet they persevered in their request, on
the sixth day he ordered his soldiers to have their weapons
privately, while he came and sat upon his judgment-seat, which
seat was so prepared in the open place of the city, that it
concealed the army that lay ready to oppress them; and when the
Jews petitioned him again, he gave a signal to the soldiers to
encompass them routed, and threatened that their punishment
should be no less than immediate death, unless they would leave
off disturbing him, and go their ways home. But they threw
themselves upon the ground, and laid their necks bare, and said
they would take their death very willingly, rather than the
wisdom of their laws should be transgressed; upon which Pilate
was deeply affected with their firm resolution to keep their laws
inviolable, and presently commanded the images to be carried back
from Jerusalem to Cesarea.
2. But Pilate undertook to bring a current of water to Jerusalem,
and did it with the sacred money, and derived the origin of the
stream from the distance of two hundred furlongs. However, the
Jews were not pleased with what had been done about this
water; and many ten thousands of the people got together, and
made a clamor against him, and insisted that he should leave off
that design. Some of them also used reproaches, and abused the
man, as crowds of such people usually do. So he habited a great
number of his soldiers in their habit, who carried daggers under
their garments, and sent them to a place where they might
surround them. So he bid the Jews himself go away; but they
boldly casting reproaches upon him, he gave the soldiers that
signal which had been beforehand agreed on; who laid upon them
much greater blows than Pilate had commanded them, and equally
punished those that were tumultuous, and those that were not; nor
did they spare them in the least: and since the people were
unarmed, and were caught by men prepared for what they were
about, there were a great number of them slain by this means, and
others of them ran away wounded. And thus an end was put to this
sedition.
3. Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be
lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a
teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew
over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He
was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the
principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross,
those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he
appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine
prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful
things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from
him, are not extinct at this day.
4. About the same time also another sad calamity put the Jews
into disorder, and certain shameful practices happened about the
temple of Isis that was at Rome. I will now first take notice of
the wicked attempt about the temple of Isis, and will then give
an account of the Jewish affairs. There was at Rome a woman whose
name was Paulina; one who, on account of the dignity of her
ancestors, and by the regular conduct of a virtuous life, had a
great reputation: she was also very rich; and although she was of
a beautiful countenance, and in that flower of her age wherein
women are the most gay, yet did she lead a life of great modesty.
She was married to Saturninus, one that was every way answerable
to her in an excellent character. Decius Mundus fell in love with
this woman, who was a man very high in the equestrian order; and
as she was of too great dignity to be caught by presents, and had
already rejected them, though they had been sent in great
abundance, he was still more inflamed with love to her, insomuch
that he promised to give her two hundred thousand Attic drachmae
for one night's lodging; and when this would not prevail upon
her, and he was not able to bear this misfortune in his amours,
he thought it the best way to famish himself to death for want of
food, on account of Paulina's sad refusal; and he determined with
himself to die after such a manner, and he went on with his
purpose accordingly. Now Mundus had a freed-woman, who had been
made free by his father, whose name was Ide, one skillful in all
sorts of mischief. This woman was very much grieved at the young
man's resolution to kill himself, (for he did not conceal his
intentions to destroy himself from others,) and came to him, and
encouraged him by her discourse, and made him to hope, by some
promises she gave him, that he might obtain a night's lodging
with Paulina; and when he joyfully hearkened to her entreaty, she
said she wanted no more than fifty thousand drachmae for the
entrapping of the woman. So when she had encouraged the young
man, and gotten as much money as she required, she did not take
the same methods as had been taken before, because she perceived
that the woman was by no means to be tempted by money; but as she
knew that she was very much given to the worship of the goddess
Isis, she devised the following stratagem: She went to some of
Isis's priests, and upon the strongest assurances [of
concealment], she persuaded them by words, but chiefly by the
offer of money, of twenty-five thousand drachmae in hand, and as
much more when the thing had taken effect; and told them the
passion of the young man, and persuaded them to use all means
possible to beguile the woman. So they were drawn in to promise
so to do, by that large sum of gold they were to have.
Accordingly, the oldest of them went immediately to Paulina; and
upon his admittance, he desired to speak with her by herself.
When that was granted him, he told her that he was sent by the
god Anubis, who was fallen in love with her, and enjoined her to
come to him. Upon this she took the message very kindly, and
valued herself greatly upon this condescension of Anubis, and
told her husband that she had a message sent her, and was to sup
and lie with Anubis; so he agreed to her acceptance of the offer,
as fully satisfied with the chastity of his wife. Accordingly,
she went to the temple, and after she had supped there, and it
was the hour to go to sleep, the priest shut the doors of the
temple, when, in the holy part of it, the lights were also put
out. Then did Mundus leap out, (for he was hidden therein,) and
did not fail of enjoying her, who was at his service all the
night long, as supposing he was the god; and when he was gone
away, which was before those priests who knew nothing of this
stratagem were stirring, Paulina came early to her husband, and
told him how the god Anubis had appeared to her. Among her
friends, also, she declared how great a value she put upon this
favor, who partly disbelieved the thing, when they reflected on
its nature, and partly were amazed at it, as having no pretense
for not believing it, when they considered the modesty and the
dignity of the person. But now, on the third day after what had
been done, Mundus met Paulina, and said, "Nay, Paulina, thou hast
saved me two hundred thousand drachmae, which sum thou sightest
have added to thy own family; yet hast thou not failed to be at
my service in the manner I invited thee. As for the reproaches
thou hast laid upon Mundus, I value not the business of names;
but I rejoice in the pleasure I reaped by what I did, while I
took to myself the name of Anubis." When he had said this, he
went his way. But now she began to come to the sense of the
grossness of what she had done, and rent her garments, and told
her husband of the horrid nature of this wicked contrivance, and
prayed him not to neglect to assist her in this case. So he
discovered the fact to the emperor; whereupon Tiberius inquired
into the matter thoroughly by examining the priests about it, and
ordered them to be crucified, as well as Ide, who was the
occasion of their perdition, and who had contrived the whole
matter, which was so injurious to the woman. He also demolished
the temple of Isis, and gave order that her statue should be
thrown into the river Tiber; while he only banished Mundus, but
did no more to him, because he supposed that what crime he had
committed was done out of the passion of love. And these were the
circumstances which concerned the temple of Isis, and the
injuries occasioned by her priests. I now return to the relation
of what happened about this time to the Jews at Rome, as I
formerly told you I would.
5. There was a man who was a Jew, but had been driven away from
his own country by an accusation laid against him for
transgressing their laws, and by the fear he was under of
punishment for the same; but in all respects a wicked man. He,
then living at Rome, professed to instruct men in the wisdom of
the laws of Moses. He procured also three other men, entirely of
the same character with himself, to be his partners. These men
persuaded Fulvia, a woman of great dignity, and one that had
embraced the Jewish religion, to send purple and gold to the
temple at Jerusalem; and when they had gotten them, they employed
them for their own uses, and spent the money themselves, on which
account it was that they at first required it of her. Whereupon
Tiberius, who had been informed of the thing by Saturninus, the
husband of Fulvia, who desired inquiry might be made about it,
ordered all the Jews to be banished out of Rome; at which time
the consuls listed four thousand men out of them, and sent them
to the island Sardinia; but punished a greater number of them,
who were unwilling to become soldiers, on account of keeping the
laws of their forefathers. Thus were these Jews banished out
of the city by the wickedness of four men.
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