ites and

ferences had intailed fuch an irreconcileable hatred be- Hatred ef tween those two sects, as came little fhort of perfecution the Canc They not only charge each other with herefy, with per- Tamue fs verting the Scriptures, and corrupting religion; but pronounce the bittereft anathemas they can meet with in the facred books against each other, and that publicly and folemnly; fo that where either of them, efpecially the Pharifees, are moft numerous or powerful, the others must hear themselves curfed, without ca ing to refift or complain. This mutual hatred and contempt is carefully propagated both by the parents to the children, and much more by the masters to the difciples, over whom they ufurp an uncontroulable authority. But all these sects agreed in their interpretation of the prophecies relating to the Meffiah, who they believed would appear in all the fplendour of temporal power, overthrow their enemies, take vengeance upon their oppreffors, and raife their nation to the most envied height of empire and profperity.

SECT. VI.

The Hiftory of the Jews, from the Birth to the Death

WE

of Chrift.

E left Herod in a moft diftracted ftate; his con- Herod's fcience continually ftung with the remembrance of distracted his beloved Mariamne and her innocent fons, whom he fate rehad cruelly murdered; his life and crown in imminent fumed.

ftars, makes that grace very neceffary. They have a fourfold diftinction of this difpofition of the foul, the one of fickness, the other of health, the third of life, the fourth of death.

7. Their morality was not inferior to their divinity. It kept a kind of medium between the auftere Effenian and the Epicurean Sadducee. Of the two they rather inclined to the former in point of abstemiousnefs.

8. They believe a future life of rewards and punishments, according to men's good or bad

actions in this; that the fouls
come from heaven; that the
future life was made for them,
and that they will fubfift there
as the angels do.

9. They condemned the phy-
lacteries of the Pharifees. They
had no lefs an abhorrence of
all kind of pictures, that were
ufed either by heathens, or af-
terwards by Christians, for a
religious ufe, or, as they term
it, to be worshipped.

10. They rejected the aftronomical calculations, as introduced after the captivity, for fettling the new moons and other feftivals of the year. danger

04

and

Bess.

cabals against his two bro

thers.

danger from the rebellious Antipater, and ungrateful Pheroras; his latter days imbittered by the treacherous intrigues of an abandoned fifter; his perfon and family hated by the whole Jewish nation; and his crown endangered by the miraculous birth of a child, proclaimed by heaven New and earth as the long expected Meffiah. To all these proofs of plagues we must add not only the treafonable defigns of his danger the unnatural Antipater, but alfo the bitter complaints of wretched his other two fc w, then at the Roman court, which rendered him completely miferable. Not that those two young princes were really fo divefted of all filial affection, as they Antipater's were represented to him by Antipater and his inftruments; but it had been his and their conftant care and study, by fuch vile mifreprefentations, to render them more and more fufpected by the jealous king. Antipater was so intent on the means of deftroying his father, and feizing the crown, that he even furnished new proofs against himself, in sending a fresh supply of poison to his mother, by means of a freed-man called Batillus. This agent was no fooner arrived at Jerufalem, than Herod, who had unravelled the whole plot, caufed him to be apprehended, and put to the rack; upon which he confeffed the purport of his errand from Rome. Herod, the better to conceal his refentment against his treacherous fon, immediately fent him a letter, in which he feemed to complain only of fome ill treatment from his mother; and charged him at the fame time to make what hafte he could to Jerufalem, that his abfence might no longer give his enemies an opportunity of obstructing his intereft in the fucceffion. He concluded with a promife, that immediately upon his arrival he would obliterate all past miscarriages, and give him all the marks of paternal affection that he should defire".

Batillus's confefion on the

rack.

Antipater Jent for to Jerufalem.

Antipater, ftill ignorant of what had paffed in Judæa, and thinking his father by this time poifoned, and in his grave, had fet out for Judæa; but on his arrival at Tarentum, he received a dispatch from fome of his friends, which acquainted him with the particulars of Pheroras's death. The news gave him a terrible fhock, not indeed fo much out of love to the deceased, as because he found that he had miffed his aim of poisoning the king. He pursued, however, his journey as far as Celenderis, a city in Sicily, where, being alarmed at the difgrace of his mo ther, who had been banifhed the court and ftripped of all

her wealth, he ftopped fome time, to confult with his Difcouragfriends, whether he had beft proceed, or return. Some ed from of these counfellors having inspired him with the fanguine pursuing his journey. hopes, that his appearance at court would difpel all his father's fufpicions, he got on board again, and in a little while landed at Sebafte. There he met with a more mortifying omen, than that of his mother's difgrace; instead of thofe acclamations with which numerous crowds had followed him to the fhip, he heard nothing but the bitterest curses from the Jews against himself, as the bloody murderer of Mariamne's two brave sons P.

Mean while, Herod had not been negligent of what he thought perhaps a more important care, than that of securing his fon, namely, the deftroying of his new-born rival at Bethlehem, whom he supposed to be still in that place. Finding himself disappointed by the wife-men, The chilfrom whom he expected a more particular information dren at concerning the infant, that he might be fure of not miff- Bethlehem massacred, ing his victim, he iffued forth an order to have all the male infants maffacred, not only in that city, but in all the coafts round about, from two years old and under (P). But the child was removed out of the reach of thofe affaffins; his parents having been timely forewarned of Herod's bloody defign, had withdrawn themselves into Egypt, whence he was not recalled till after the death of the tyrant; when, upon their return, fearing ftill fome farther attempt from his fucceffor Archelaus, they turned off into Galilee, and repaired to their old habitation at Nazareth.

Soon after this maffacre at Bethlehem, Antipater arrived Antipater's at Sebafte, and from thence went directly to Jerufalem, arrival. where Herod had fo closely concealed his designs concerning him, that he made no hesitation to offer himself at the gates of the palace. They were immediately opened to him; but, upon his entering, they were shut again to all his retinue. Upon his being introduced to the king, he went to throw himself at his feet, and to embrace his knees; but met with a ftern repulfe, and was immediately arrested. When he asked the reason of this fevere treatment, he was upbraided with the death of his brothers, and referred over to Varus, by whom he should be judged P Ibid. cap. 7, fub init.

(P) It is fomething furprifing, that Jofephus, who was never fparing of Herod's cha

racter, fhould yet have omitted
fuch a material occurrence.

on

His trial on the very next day (Q). Antipater was accordingly for treafon. brought the next morning before him, and a numerous affembly, whom Herod had convened for that purpose. Upon his first appearing, he threw himself upon his knees, and begged that they would not condemn him unheard. bitter com- Herod, who was alfo prefent, bade him ftand up. Then plaint a- upbraided the prifoner with his fecret defigns of poisoning gainst him. him, and unravelled the whole confpiracy lately difco

Herod's

His defence.

Invalidated.

vered, appealing for the truth of it to his relations and friends, and other evidences, whom he had also fummoned to prove his accufations; the laft of which, and that which he vented with the greateft vehemence, was the death of his two brave fons, "Of whom," said he, addreffing himfelf to Antipater," thou haft been but the too unnatural follower, if they were guilty; and the base murderer, if they were innocent." His exceffive grief, attended with a flood of tears, which he could not refrain at naming of those two unhappy princes, obliged him to stop short, and to beckon to Nicholas Damafcen to proceed with the trial.

Antipater, in order to anticipate Damafcen, began to plead his own caufe. He expatiated on the little likelihood there was that he should harbour thoughts of such a horrid parricide, efpecially after the dreadful punishment of his two brothers for the like attempt; and he loudly complained of the malice of his enemies. But Damafcen being at length permitted to fpeak, gave such fatisfactory evidence to the court, that there could be no room left to doubt of his being guilty. Varus however told Antipater for the last time, that if he had any thing to reply with a view to invalidate the proofs, he might now freely speak, feeing it was Herod's and his own earneft defire, that he might prove himself innocent. Antipater, for want of better evidence, had recourse to oaths and bitter curfes, which he plentifully imprecated on himself, if he were guilty; but this being the ufual refuge of the blackeft criminals, the prefident, to bring the trial to a fair iffue, ordered fome of the poifon which had been mentioned in the evidence, to be brought, and given to a condemned perfon before the court; this experiment being tried, the man died almost as foon as he had taken it.

(Q) Quintilius Varus had fucceeded Sextus Saturninus in the government of Syria, and being arrived at that province, was just then come to Jerufa

lem, to pay a vifitto Herod, and was thereupon defired by that monarch, that he would prefide as judge at the trial of his rebellious and unnatural fon.

Varus immediately left the court and Judæa to return He is caft. to Antioch, without declaring his opinion to any but to Herod, who ordered his fon to be fhut up in prison, and fent letters to Auguftus to acquaint him with the whole trial, charging at the fame time the meflenger to give that emperor all the farther particulars of it by word of mouth.

After this tranfaction another difcovery was made, by New dif an intercepted letter from Antiphilus, then in Egypt, di- coveries of rected to Antipater, to the following effect: "I have Antipater's fent treason. you Achme's letter (R): you know what risk I run by fo doing, fince I lay myself at the mercy of two most potent families, my inveterate enemies. It concerns you therefore to look to it, that nothing miscarry." The bufinefs was to find this letter of Achme; and the messenger pretended to be ignorant of any other, except that above mentioned. At length, upon closer fearch, another was found fewed in the lining of his garment, couched in these terms: "Achme to Antipater: I have written to your father, according to your direction, and have inclosed in the packet the forged letter from Salome to the empress my mistress; and I doubt not but the king, upon reading of it, will put her to death as a traitress." This pre

tended letter of Salome was contrived by Antipater, and dreffed up by Achme, who wrote to the king as follows: "Achme to king Herod: Out of a defire I have to serve you, by acquainting you with any thing that concerns your fafety, I have herewith fent you a letter of Salome to the empress my mistress, in which she defires her leave to marry Syllæus (S). Pray tear it as foon as read, fince the discovery of it would coft me my head." Herod, Confronted upon reading and comparing the whole, caufed his fon to by Herod. be brought before him, bound as he was, and fhewed him the letters; and at the fame time afked him, what he had to answer for himfelf. Antipater at fight of them, was thunderstruck, and could not utter a word; and, upon its being infifted on, that he should name his accomplices, he only mentioned Antiphilus. Salome, who was excced- Salome ac cused.

9 Antiq. lib. xvii. cap. 7.

(R) This Achme was by nation, a Jewefs, in the fervice of Julia, Auguftus's wife; but had been corrupted by Antipater with large fums, to contrive this plot against his father, and his aunt Salome.

(S) Syllæus was a Nabathean, and Herod's fworn enemy; and was soon after beheaded at Rome, for betraying Elius Gallus into the Arabian expedition, and for fome other crimes.