The Wars of the Jews; Or, The History of the Destruction of JerusalemJosephus, Flavius
Religion
The Wars of the Jews; Or, The History of the Destruction of Jerusalem
Josephus, Flavius
Jews -- History
4. At this the king was in such an extravagant passion, that he overcame
his disease [for the time,] and went out, and spake to the people;
wherein he made a terrible accusation against those men, as being guilty
of sacrilege, and as making greater attempts under pretense of their
law, and he thought they deserved to be punished as impious persons.
Whereupon the people were afraid lest a great number should be found
guilty and desired that when he had first punished those that put them
upon this work, and then those that were caught in it, he would leave
off his anger as to the rest. With this the king complied, though not
without difficulty, and ordered those that had let themselves down,
together with their Rabbins, to be burnt alive, but delivered the rest
that were caught to the proper officers, to be put to death by them.
5. After this, the distemper seized upon his whole body, and greatly
disordered all its parts with various symptoms; for there was a gentle
fever upon him, and an intolerable itching over all the surface of his
body, and continual pains in his colon, and dropsical turnouts about
his feet, and an inflammation of the abdomen, and a putrefaction of his
privy member, that produced worms. Besides which he had a difficulty of
breathing upon him, and could not breathe but when he sat upright, and
had a convulsion of all his members, insomuch that the diviners said
those diseases were a punishment upon him for what he had done to the
Rabbins. Yet did he struggle with his numerous disorders, and still
had a desire to live, and hoped for recovery, and considered of several
methods of cure. Accordingly, he went over Jordan, and made use of those
hot baths at Callirrhoe, which ran into the lake Asphaltites, but are
themselves sweet enough to be drunk. And here the physicians thought
proper to bathe his whole body in warm oil, by letting it down into a
large vessel full of oil; whereupon his eyes failed him, and he came and
went as if he was dying; and as a tumult was then made by his servants,
at their voice he revived again. Yet did he after this despair of
recovery, and gave orders that each soldier should have fifty drachmae
a-piece, and that his commanders and friends should have great sums of
money given them.
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