The disturbances in Galilee were thus quelled; [Sidenote: Spring A.D. 67] and, desisting from civil strife, the Jews directed their attention to preparations against the Romans. In Jerusalem Ananus the high priest and those of the leading men who were not pro-Romans busied themselves with the repair of the walls and the accumulation of engines of war. In every quarter of the city missiles and suits of armour were being forged; masses of young men were undergoing a desultory training; and the whole scene was one of confusion. On the other side, the dejection of the moderate party was profound; and many foresaw and openly lamented the impending disasters. There were also omens, which to the friends of peace boded ill, while those who had kindled the war readily invented favourable interpretations for them;[270] and the city before the coming of the Romans wore the appearance of a place doomed to destruction. Ananus, indeed, was anxious gradually to desist from warlike preparations and to bend the revolutionaries and the infatuated Zealots, as they were called, to a more salutary policy; but their violence was too much for him. The sequel of our narrative will show the fate which befell him.[271]—_B.J._ II. 22. 1 (647-651). Footnote 270: Cf. § (50). Footnote 271: See § (45). (43) The Fall of Jotapata. Josephus taken Prisoner. Capture of the Town through Information of a Jewish Deserter [Sidenote: A.D. 67] The defenders of Jotapata were still holding out and beyond all expectation enduring their miseries, when on the forty-seventh day (of the siege) the earthworks of the Romans overtopped the wall. That same day a deserter reported to Vespasian the reduced numbers and strength of the defence, and that, worn out with perpetual watching and continuous fighting, they would be unable longer to resist a vigorous assault[272] and might be taken by stratagem, if the attempt were made. He stated that about the last watch (of the night)—an hour when they expected some respite from their sufferings and when tired frames succumb most readily to morning slumber—the sentinels used to drop asleep; that was the hour when he advised the Romans to attack. Vespasian, knowing the Jews’ loyalty to each other and their contempt of chastisement, viewed the deserter with suspicion. On a former occasion a man of Jotapata who had been taken prisoner held out under every variety of torture, and, without uttering a word about the besieged to his enemies who were trying him by fire, was crucified, smiling at death. Probability, however, lent credit to the traitor; and so, thinking that the man might be speaking the truth and that even a trap, if it were one, was not likely to lead to any serious reverse, Vespasian ordered him into custody and made ready his army for the capture of the city.