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1. But now the punishment was transferred unto the original
author, Antipater, and took its rise from the death of Pheroras;
for certain of his freed-men came with a sad countenance to the
king, and told him that his brother had been destroyed by poison,
and that his wife had brought him somewhat that was prepared
after an unusual manner, and that, upon his eating it, he
presently fell into his distemper; that Antipater's mother and
sister, two days before, brought a woman out of Arabia that was
skillful in mixing such drugs, that she might prepare a love
potion for Pheroras; and that instead of a love potion, she had
given him deadly poison; and that this was done by the management
of Sylleus, who was acquainted with that woman.
2. The king was deeply affected with so many suspicions, and had
the maid-servants and some of the free women also tortured; one
of which cried out in her agonies, "May that God that governs the
earth and the heaven punish this author of all these our
miseries, Antipater's mother!" The king took a handle from this
confession, and proceeded to inquire further into the truth of
the matter. So this woman discovered the friendship of
Antipater's mother to Pheroras, and Antipater's women, as also
their secret meetings, and that Pheroras and Antipater had drunk
with them for a whole night together as they returned from the
king, and would not suffer any body, either man-servant or
maidservant, to be there; while one of the free women discovered
the matter.
3. Upon this Herod tortured the maid-servants every on by
themselves separately, who all unanimously agreed in the
foregoing discoveries, and that accordingly by agreement they
went away, Antipater to Rome, and Pheroras to Perea; for that
they oftentimes talked to one another thus: That after Herod had
slain Alexander and Aristobulus, he would fall upon them, and
upon their wives, because, after he Mariamne and her children he
would spare nobody; and that for this reason it was best to get
as far off the wild beast as they were able: - and that Antipater
oftentimes lamented his own case before his mother, and said to
her, that he had already gray hairs upon his head, and that his
father grew younger again every day, and that perhaps death would
overtake him before he should begin to be a king in earnest; and
that in case Herod should die, which yet nobody knew when it
would be, the enjoyment of the succession could certainly be but
for a little time; for that these heads of Hydra, the sons of
Alexander and Aristobulus, were growing up: that he was deprived
by his father of the hopes of being succeeded by his children,
for that his successor after his death was not to be any one of
his own sons, but Herod the son of Mariamne: that in this point
Herod was plainly distracted, to think that his testament should
therein take place; for he would take care that not one of his
posterity should remain, because he was of all fathers the
greatest hater of his children. Yet does he hate his brother
still worse; whence it was that he a while ago gave himself a
hundred talents, that he should not have any intercourse with
Pheroras. And when Pheroras said, Wherein have we done him any
harm? Antipater replied, "I wish he would but deprive us of all
we have, and leave us naked and alive only; but it is indeed
impossible to escape this wild beast, who is thus given to
murder, who will not permit us to love any person openly,
although we be together privately; yet may we be so openly too,
if we have but the courage and the hands of men."
4. These things were said by the women upon the torture; as also
that Pheroras resolved to fly with them to Perea. Now Herod gave
credit to all they said, on account of the affair of the hundred
talents; for he had no discourse with any body about them, but
only with Antipater. So he vented his anger first of all against
Antipater's mother, and took away from her all the ornaments
which he had given her, which cost a great many talents, and cast
her out of the palace a second time. He also took care of
Pheroras's women after their tortures, as being now reconciled to
them; but he was in great consternation himself, and inflamed
upon every suspicion, and had many innocent persons led to the
torture, out of his fear lest he should leave any guilty person
untortured.
5. And now it was that he betook himself to examine Antipater of
Samaria, who was the steward of [his son] Antipater; and upon
torturing him, he learned that Antipater had sent for a potion of
deadly poison for him out of Egypt, by Antiphilus, a companion of
his; that Theudio, the uncle of Antipater, had it from him, and
delivered it to Pheroras; for that Antipater had charged him to
take his father off while he was at Rome, and so free him from
the suspicion of doing it himself: that Pheroras also committed
this potion to his wife. Then did the king send for her, and bid
her bring to him what she had received immediately. So she came
out of her house as if she would bring it with her, but threw
herself down from the top of the house, in order to prevent any
examination and torture from the king. However, it came to pass,
as it seems by the providence of God, when he intended to bring
Antipater to punishment, that she fell not upon her head, but
upon other parts of her body, and escaped. The king, when she was
brought to him, took care of her, (for she was at first quite
senseless upon her fall,) and asked her why she had thrown
herself down; and gave her his oath, that if she would speak the
real truth, he would excuse her from punishment; but that if she
concealed any thing, he would have her body torn to pieces by
torments, and leave no part. of it to be buried.
6. Upon this the woman paused a little, and then said, "Why do I
spare to speak of these grand secrets, now Pheroras is dead? that
would only tend to save Antipater, who is all our destruction.
Hear then, O king, and be thou, and God himself, who cannot be
deceived, witnesses to the truth of what I am going to say. When
thou didst sit weeping by Pheroras as he was dying, then it was
that he called me to him, and said, My dear wife, I have been
greatly mistaken as to the disposition of my brother towards me,
and have hated him that is so affectionate to me, and have
contrived to kill him who is in such disorder for me before I am
dead. As for myself, I receive the recompence of my impiety; but
do thou bring what poison was left with us by Antipater, and
which thou keepest in order to destroy him, and consume it
immediately in the fire in my sight, that I may not be liable to
the avenger in the invisible world." This I brought as he bid me,
and emptied the greatest part of it into the fire, but reserved a
little of it for my own use against uncertain futurity, and out
of my fear of thee."
7. When she had said this, she brought the box, which had a small
quantity of this potion in it: but the king let her alone, and
transferred the tortures to Antiphilus's mother and brother; who
both confessed that Antiphilus brought the box out of Egypt, and
that they had received the potion from a brother of his, who was
a physician at Alexandria. Then did the ghosts of Alexander and
Aristobulus go round all the palace, and became the inquisitors
and discoverers of what could not otherwise have been found out
and brought such as were the freest from suspicion to be
examined; whereby it was discovered that Mariamne, the high
priest's daughter, was conscious of this plot; and her very
brothers, when they were tortured, declared it so to be.
Whereupon the king avenged this insolent attempt of the mother
upon her son, and blotted Herod, whom he had by her, out of his
treament, who had been before named therein as successor to
Antipater.
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