Such was the request which Aristobulus and his followers made to Petronius. Petronius, on his side, was influenced partly by the importunity of Aristobulus and the leaders, who, considering the great issues at stake, left no stone unturned to press their suit, partly by the spectacle of the stubborn and solid front presented by the Jewish opposition. He shrank from the thought of putting to death, as the instrument of Gaius’s madness, such myriads of men, solely on the ground of their reverence of God, and of spending the rest of his life in remorse.[193] It was far better, he thought, to write to Gaius (and inform him of) their desperate determination.[194] The Emperor might be enraged with him for not having executed his orders at once; again, he might conceivably convince him. If Gaius still adhered to his original mad resolution, he (Petronius) would then make war on the Jews without further delay. But if, after all, his anger was partly directed against himself, to die for so vast a multitude of one’s fellow-creatures was honourable in the eyes of those who aspired to heroism.[195] He decided accordingly to give way to the appeal.... Petronius informs the petitioners of his intention to write to Gaius. After this speech Petronius dismissed the assembled Jews, bidding those in authority to see that agricultural operations were resumed and to conciliate the people with hopes of a successful issue. But now, while he was doing his best to cheer the multitude, God made known to Petronius His presence[196] and assistance in furthering the whole scheme. For no sooner had he ended his address to the Jews than God forthwith sent a great rain. This was contrary to general expectation, as the morning of that day had been fine and the sky showed no sign of a shower; moreover, the whole year had been subject to such drought as to make men despair of any rainfall even when they saw the heavens overcast. So, when now at length there came a great downpour, contrary to experience and to all expectation, the Jews had hopes of Petronius’s success in his petition on their behalf, while Petronius was astounded when he saw God’s evident care for the Jews, and how He had given so signal a manifestation of Himself as to leave even those who had intended to defy Him openly no possibility of contradiction.... Meanwhile, in Rome, Gaius’ friend, Herod Agrippa, had prevailed on the Emperor to desist from his purpose. Gaius thereupon counter-ordered his previous instructions, but on receipt of Petronius’s appeal wrote him an angry letter, advising him, in view of his disregard of orders, “to judge for himself what course he should take,” _i. e._ to commit suicide.