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1. Now Caius Caesar did so grossly abuse the fortune he had
arrived at, as to take himself to be a god, and to desire to be
so called also, and to cut off those of the greatest nobility out
of his country. He also extended his impiety as far as the Jews.
Accordingly, he sent Petronius with an army to Jerusalem, to
place his statues in the temple, and commanded him that, in
case the Jews would not admit of them, he should slay those that
opposed it, and carry all the rest of the nation into captivity:
but God concerned himself with these his commands. However,
Petronius marched out of Antioch into Judea, with three legions,
and many Syrian auxiliaries. Now as to the Jews, some of them
could not believe the stories that spake of a war; but those that
did believe them were in the utmost distress how to defend
themselves, and the terror diffused itself presently through them
all; for the army was already come to Ptolemais.
2. This Ptolemais is a maritime city of Galilee, built in the
great plain. It is encompassed with mountains: that on the east
side, sixty furlongs off, belongs to Galilee; but that on the
south belongs to Carmel, which is distant from it a hundred and
twenty furlongs; and that on the north is the highest of them
all, and is called by the people of the country, The Ladder of
the Tyrians, which is at the distance of a hundred furlongs. The
very small river Belus runs by it, at the distance of two
furlongs; near which there is Menmon's monument, and hath
near it a place no larger than a hundred cubits, which deserves
admiration; for the place is round and hollow, and affords such
sand as glass is made of; which place, when it hath been emptied
by the many ships there loaded, it is filled again by the winds,
which bring into it, as it were on purpose, that sand which lay
remote, and was no more than bare common sand, while this mine
presently turns it into glassy sand. And what is to me still more
wonderful, that glassy sand which is superfluous, and is once
removed out of the place, becomes bare common sand again. And
this is the nature of the place we are speaking of.
3. But now the Jews got together in great numbers with their
wives and children into that plain that was by Ptolemais, and
made supplication to Petronius, first for their laws, and, in the
next place, for themselves. So he was prevailed upon by the
multitude of the supplicants, and by their supplications, and
left his army and the statues at Ptolemais, and then went forward
into Galilee, and called together the multitude and all the men
of note to Tiberias, and showed them the power of the Romans, and
the threatenings of Caesar; and, besides this, proved that their
petition was unreasonable, because while all the nations in
subjection to them had placed the images of Caesar in their
several cities, among the rest of their gods, for them alone to
oppose it, was almost like the behavior of revolters, and was
injurious to Caesar.
4. And when they insisted on their law, and the custom of their
country, and how it was not only not permitted them to make
either an image of God, or indeed of a man, and to put it in any
despicable part of their country, much less in the temple itself,
Petronius replied, "And am not I also," said he, "bound to keep
the law of my own lord? For if I transgress it, and spare you, it
is but just that I perish; while he that sent me, and not I, will
commence a war against you; for I am under command as well as
you." Hereupon the whole multitude cried out that they were ready
to suffer for their law. Petronius then quieted them, and said to
them, "Will you then make war against Caesar?" The Jews said, "We
offer sacrifices twice every day for Caesar, and for the Roman
people;" but that if he would place the images among them, he
must first sacrifice the whole Jewish nation; and that they were
ready to expose themselves, together with their children and
wives, to be slain. At this Petronius was astonished, and pitied
them, on account of the inexpressible sense of religion the men
were under, and that courage of theirs which made them ready to
die for it; so they were dismissed without success.
5. But on the following days he got together the men of power
privately, and the multitude publicly, and sometimes he used
persuasions to them, and sometimes he gave them his advice; but
he chiefly made use of threatenings to them, and insisted upon
the power of the Romans, and the anger of Caius; and besides,
upon the necessity he was himself under [to do as he was
enjoined]. But as they could be no way prevailed upon, and he saw
that the country was in danger of lying without tillage; (for it
was about seed time that the multitude continued for fifty days
together idle;) so he at last got them together, and told them
that it was best for him to run some hazard himself; "for either,
by the Divine assistance, I shall prevail with Caesar, and shall
myself escape the danger as well as you, which will he matter of
joy to us both; or, in case Caesar continue in his rage, I will
be ready to expose my own life for such a great number as you
are." Whereupon he dismissed the multitude, who prayed greatly
for his prosperity; and he took the army out of Ptolemais, and
returned to Antioch; from whence he presently sent an epistle to
Caesar, and informed him of the irruption he had made into Judea,
and of the supplications of the nation; and that unless he had a
mind to lose both the country and the men in it, he must permit
them to keep their law, and must countermand his former
injunction. Caius answered that epistle in a violent-way, and
threatened to have Petronius put to death for his being so tardy
in the execution of what he had commanded. But it happened that
those who brought Caius's epistle were tossed by a storm, and
were detained on the sea for three months, while others that
brought the news of Caius's death had a good voyage. Accordingly,
Petronins received the epistle concerning Caius seven and twenty
days before he received that which was against himself.
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