walls to see it. He then sent Josephus to expostulate with them, which he did, exhorting them not to run themselves into inevitable ruin, by obstinately persisting to defend a place which could hold out but a very little longer, and which the Romans already looked upon as their own. Josephus has given us a copy of his elaborate and pathetic speech on this occasion, which he tells us drew a flood of tears from his eyes. They requited his kindness by darting their arrows at him, and rejected the merciful overtures of Titus.*

It is difficult for us in the present day to form any adequate conception of the extremity of wretchedness to which the inhabitants of this devoted city were reduced. While the poor were carried out at the gates, to be buried at the public expence, Titus was informed by a deserter, that at one of the gates where he was stationed, there were carried out one hundred and fifteen thousand, eight hundred and eighty, between the fourteenth of April, when the siege commenced, and the first of July. Another told him that they had carried out at all the gates six hundred thousand, and that then, being unable to carry them all out, they had filled whole houses with them, and shut them up.

I must not disgust the reader by reciting in this place, the miserable resources to which the wretched inhabitants were now reduced, in order to prolong the sad remains of life; but one circumstance is so materially connected with the narrative, that it cannot with any propriety be suppressed. It was in this sad and pinching conjecture that an unhappy mother was reduced to the extremity of feeding upon her own child! This lady, whose name was Miriam, had taken refuge, with many others, in this devoted city, from the breaking out of the war. As the famine increased, her house was repeatedly plundered

Joseph. Wars, b. 6. ch 1.

of such provisions as she had been able to procure. She had vainly endeavoured by her entreaties to prevail upon them, or by her execrations to provoke them, to put an end to her miserable existence, but the mercy was too great to be granted her. Frantic at length with fury and despair, she snatched her infant from her bosom, cut its throat, and broiled it; and having satiated her present hunger, concealed the rest. The smell of it soon drew the voracious human tigers to her house; they threatened her with the most excruciating tortures, if she did not discover her provisions to them. Upon which she set before them the relicts of her mangled infant, bidding them eat heartily and not be squeamish, since she, its once tender mother, had made no scruple to butcher, dress, and feed upon it. At the sight of this horrid dish, inhuman as they were, they stood aghast, petrified with horror, and departed, leaving the astonished mother in possession of her dismal fare.*

When the report of this spread through the city, the horror and consternation were as universal as they were inexpressible. They now, for the first time, began to think themselves forsaken of the providence of God, and to expect the most awful effects of his anger. Nor were their fears either unreasonable or ill-founded, for no sooner had Titus heard of this inhuman deed, than he vowed the total extirpation of the city and people. "Since," said he, "they have so often refused my prof fers of pardon, and have preferred war to peace, rebellion to obedience, and famine to plenty, I am determined to bury that cursed metropolis under its ruins, that the sun may never more dart his beams on a city, where the mothers feed on the flesh of their children, and the f thers, no less guilty than themselves, choose

them to such extremities, rather than lay down their arms." *

This dreadful event happened about the end of July, by which time the Romans had got possession of the fortress or castle of Antonia, which obliged the Jews to set fire to the stately galleries that joined it to the temple, lest it should facilitate a passage to the besiegers into it. On the seventeenth day of that month, the daily sacrifices, for the first time, ceased, there being no proper person remaining to offer them up. On the 28th of July, Titus set fire to the north gallery of the temple, which enclosed the outer court, from fort Antonia to the valley of Cedron, by means of which he got an easy admittance into it, and forced the besieged into that of the priests. Six days he tried to batter down one of the galleries; yet such was the strength of the wall, that it eluded the force of his battering rams, as well as the art of sapping. His next attempt was to get possession by scaling, but his men were so vigorously repulsed, and with such loss, that he was obliged to desist. The gates were then set on fire, which, being plated with silver, burnt all that night, whilst the metal dropped down in the melting. The flame communicated itself to the porticos and galleries, which the besieged beheld without offering to stop it, contenting themselves with sending out vollies of impotent curses against the Romans. On the ninth of August, Titus gave orders to extinguish the fire, and called a council to determine whether the remainder of the temple should be saved or not. He himself was for the former-but most of his officers for the latter, alleging that it was no longer a temple, but a scene of war and slaughter, and that the Jews would never be at rest, so long as any part of it was standing. But when they

• Joseph. Wars, b. 6. ch. 3.

found Titus so inflexibly bent on preserving so noble an edifice, against which he told them he could have no quarrel, they all came over to his mind. The next day, August the tenth, was therefore determined upon for a general assault. *

In the mean time, something on the part of the Jews, having turned up which exasperated the Roman soldiers, or as Josephus thinks, pushed by the hand of Providence, one of them of his own accord, took up a blazing firebrand, and getting on his comrade's shoulders, threw it into one of the apartments that surrounded the sanctuary, through a window, and instantly set the whole north side in a flame up to the third story. Titus, who was gone to rest himself awhile in his pavilion, was awaked at the noise, and ran immediately to give orders for the fire to be extinguished. He called, entreated, threatened, and even caned his men, but all to no purpose. The confusion was so great, and the soldiers so obstinately bent upon destroying all that was left, that he was neither heard or regarded. Those that flocked thither from the camp, instead of obeying his orders, were busy, either in killing the Jews or increasing the flames. Observing that all his endeavours were ineffectual, Titus entered into the sanctuary and most holy place, the remaining grandeur and riches of which, even yet, surpassed all that had been told him of it. Out of the former he saved the golden candlestick, the table of the shewbread, the altar of incense, all of pure gold, and the book of the law, wrapped up in a rich golden tissue. Upon his quitting that sacred place, some soldiers set fire to it, obliging those who had staid behind to come out alsoin consequence of which they all began to plunder it, carrying off the costly utensils, robes, gold plating of the

Joseph. Wars, b. 6. ch. 4.

† Ibid. b. 6. ch. 4.

gates, &c. insomuch that there was not one of them who did not enrich himself by it.

A horrid massacre succeeded to this, in which many thousands perished, some by the flames, others falling from the battlements, and a greater number still by the enemy's sword, which spared neither age, sex, nor quality. Among them were upwards of six thousand persons, who had been seduced thither by a false prophet, who had promised them that they should find a miraculous deliverance on that very day. The Romans carried their fury to the burning of all the treasurehouses of the place, though they were full of the richest furniture, vestments, plate, and other valuable articles, there laid up for security; nor did they cease the dreadful work of devastation, till they had destroyed all except two of the temple gates, and that part of the court that was destined for the women. The city was now abandoned to the fury of the soldiers, who proceeded forthwith to plunder it, setting it on fire in every direction, and murdering all that fell into their hands-whilst the factious party among the Jews, that had hitherto escaped, went and fortified themselves in the royal palace, where they killed eight thousand of their own countrymen that had there taken refuge.*

Preparations were now making for a vigorous attack on the upper city, and particularly on the royal palace, and this occupied Titus from the 20th of August to the 7th of September, during which time great numbers came and made their submission to him, among whom were forty thousand citizens of the inferior classes, including, in all probability, the Christian church, to whom he gave permission to go and settle where they would. On the 8th of September the city was taken and entered by Titus.

Joseph. Wars, b. 7. ch. 1.