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1. Moreover, Salome exasperated Herod's cruelty against his sons;
for Aristobulus was desirous to bring her, who was his
mother-in-law and his aunt, into the like dangers with
themselves; so he sent to her to take care of her own safety, and
told her that the king was preparing to put her to death, on
account of the accusation that was laid against her, as if when
she formerly endeavored to marry herself to Sylleus the Arabian,
she had discovered the king's grand secrets to him, who was the
king's enemy; and this it was that came as the last storm, and
entirely sunk the young men when they were in great danger
before. For Salome came running to the king, and informed him of
what admonition had been given her; whereupon he could bear no
longer, but commanded both the young men to be bound, and kept
the one asunder from the other. He also sent Volumnius, the
general of his army, to Caesar immediately, as also his friend
Olympus with him, who carried the informations in writing along
with them. Now as soon as they had sailed to Rome, and delivered
the king's letters to Caesar, Caesar was mightily troubled at the
case of the young men; yet did not he think he ought to take the
power from the father of condemning his sons; so he wrote back to
him, and appointed him to have the power over his sons; but said
withal, that he would do well to make an examination into this
matter of the plot against him in a public court, and to take for
his assessors his own kindred, and the governors of the province.
And if those sons be found guilty, to put them to death; but if
they appear to have thought of no more than flying away from him,
that he should moderate their punishment.
2. With these directions Herod complied, and came to Berytus,
where Caesar had ordered the court to be assembled, and got the
judicature together. The presidents sat first, as Caesar's
letters had appointed, who were Saturninus and Pedanius, and
their lieutenants that were with them, with whom was the
procurator Volumnius also; next to them sat the king's kinsmen
and friends, with Salome also, and Pheroras; after whom sat the
principal men of all Syria, excepting Archelaus; for Herod had a
suspicion of him, because he was Alexander's father-in-law. Yet
did not he produce his sons in open court; and this was done very
cunningly, for he knew well enough that had they but appeared
only, they would certainly have been pitied; and if withal they
had been suffered to speak, Alexander would easily have answered
what they were accused of; but they were in custody at Platane, a
village of the Sidontans.
3. So the king got up, and inveighed against his sons, as if they
were present; and as for that part of the accusation that they
had plotted against him, he urged it but faintly, because he was
destitute of proofs; but he insisted before the assessors on the
reproaches, and jests, and injurious carriage, and ten thousand
the like offenses against him, which were heavier than death
itself; and when nobody contradicted him, he moved them to pity
his case, as though he had been condemned himself, now he had
gained a bitter victory against his sons. So he asked every one's
sentence, which sentence was first of all given by Saturninus,
and was this: That he condemned the young men, but not to death;
for that it was not fit for him, who had three sons of his own
now present, to give his vote for the destruction of the sons of
another. The two lieutenants also gave the like vote; some others
there were also who followed their example; but Volumnius began
to vote on the more melancholy side, and all those that came
after him condemned the young men to die, some out of flattery,
and some out of hatred to Herod; but none out of indignation at
their crimes. And now all Syria and Judea was in great
expectation, and waited for the last act of this tragedy; yet did
nobody, suppose that Herod would be so barbarous as to murder his
children: however, he carried them away to Tyre, and thence
sailed to Cesarea, and deliberated with himself what sort of
death the young men should suffer.
4. Now there was a certain old soldier of the king's, whose name
was Tero, who had a son that was very familiar with and a friend
to Alexander, and who himself particularly loved the young men.
This soldier was in a manner distracted, out of the excess of the
indignation he had at what was doing; and at first he cried out
aloud, as he went about, that justice was trampled under foot;
that truth was perished, and nature confounded; and that the life
of man was full of iniquity, and every thing else that passion
could suggest to a man who spared not his own life; and at last
he ventured to go to the king, and said, "Truly I think thou art
a most miserable man, when thou hearkenest to most wicked
wretches, against those that ought to be dearest to thee; since
thou hast frequently resolved that Pheroras and Salome should be
put to death, and yet believest them against thy sons; while
these, by cutting off the succession of thine own sons, leave all
wholly to Antipater, and thereby choose to have thee such a king
as may be thoroughly in their own power. However, consider
whether this death of Antipater's brethren will not make him
hated by the soldiers; for there is nobody but commiserates the
young men; and of the captains, a great many show their
indignation at it openly." Upon his saying this, he named those
that had such indignation; but the king ordered those men, with
Tero himself and his son, to be seized upon immediately.
5. At which time there was a certain barber, whose name was
Trypho. This man leaped out from among the people in a kind of
madness, and accused himself, and said, "This Tero endeavored to
persuade me also to cut thy throat with my razor, when I trimmed
thee, and promised that Alexander should give me large presents
for so doing." When Herod heard this, he examined Tero, with his
son and the barber, by the torture; but as the others denied the
accusation, and he said nothing further, Herod gave order that
Tero should be racked more severely; but his son, out of pity to
his father, promised to discover the whole to the king, if he
would grant [that his father should be no longer tortured]. When
he had agreed to this, he said that his father, at the persuasion
of Alexander, had an intention to kill him. Now some said this
was forged, in order to free his father from his torments; and
some said it was true.
6. And now Herod accused the captains and Tero in an assembly of
the people, and brought the people together in a body against
them; and accordingly there were they put to death, together with
[Trypho] the barber; they were killed by the pieces of wood and
the stones that were thrown at them. He also sent his sons to
Sebaste, a city not far from Cesarea, and ordered them to be
there strangled; and as what he had ordered was executed
immediately, so he commanded that their dead bodies should be
brought to the fortress Alexandrium, to be buried with Alexander,
their grandfather by the mother's side. And this was the end of
Alexander and Aristobulus.
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