4. M. 3935. A. C. 69; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 5342. A. C. 69. JOS. HIST. b. xiii. c. 19—END OF B. XV.

priest at Jerusalem, and the principality of Judea with | him, and dissuaded him from it; so that, for the present, it, to him and those of his family in a perpetual succes- he dropped his resentment. sion; by which he restored the government to its ancient form, and abolished the aristocracy which Gabinius had instituted, and that Antipater should be the procurator of Judea under him.

As long as Julius Cæsar lived, the Jews were held in great honour and esteem by the Romans, and had several decrees passed in their favour: but after his untimely death, their country became a prey to every hungry general of Rome. Cassius, having made himself master of Syria, exacted of the Jews about seven hundred talents of silver, which Antipater prevailed with his two

This Antipater, who was a person of great wisdom, of powerful interest in several places, and in high favour with the Romans, had two sons, Phasael and Herod; to the former of which he gave the government of the coun-sons to pay him, and so preserved himself the longer in try about Jerusalem, and to the other that of Galilee. Phasael behaved himself in his administration with great lenity; but Herod was a man of a different character, and his boisterous temper made him less acceptable to the Jews.

At this time there was a gang of thieves that infested Galilee, and the neighbouring parts of Colo-Syria, whom Herod fell upon, and having taken one Hezekiah their ringleader, with several of his associates, put them all to death. Those who envied the prosperity of Antipater, and the growth and greatness of his power, made this a handle to accuse Herod to Hyrcanus for executing men without a legal trial, and obtained a citation from him to summon Herod to answer for it before the sanhedrim. He came; but as he made his appearance in a purple robe, and surrounded with his guards, he so overawed that great council, that they all sat silent without saying a word against him, until Simeas, a man of great justice and integrity, rose up, and with a becoming presence of mind, complained, that he never saw a criminal appear in a court of justice so attended; that it looked as if he meant to make the administration thereof more dangerous to the judges, than the malefactor: "but this," says he, turning to the high priest," is not so much to be imputed to his insolence, as to your connivance, which encourages it: yet know," continued he, "that his person whom you screen from the justice of the laws, will be a scourge to you all." Nor was he in this a false prophet.

the government of Judea. He was, as we said, procurator of the province under Hyrcanus; and the next man to him in power and authority was Malicus: but not being contented to be the second man next the prince, he would fain have been the first; especially since he was a natural Jew, and Antipater but an Idumean. Antipater had all along been his fast friend, and upon more occasions than one saved his life: but he, like an ungrateful wretch, was continually laying plots against him; and, at length, taking the opportu nity of his dining one day with Hyrcanus, he bribed the butler to give him poison in his wine, of which he died, and then, with an armed force, seized on the government of Jerusalem. Phasael and Herod had, for a long time, suspected this traitor's design against their father, and when they heard of his death, they concluded that he was the author of it. They thought proper, however, to conceal their resentment for the present; but as soon as Herod found a fit opportunity, he had him taken off.

the Parthians, in order to revenge the death of Crassus, and the a While Julius Cæsar was preparing for an expedition against Romans that were slain with him at the battle of Carrbe, on the ides of March, that is, on the fifteenth day of that month, four days before he intended to set out upon that expedition, he was This was the most villanous act, and the more so, because the murdered in the senate-house, by a conspiracy of the senators. prime authors of it, namely, Marcus Brutus, Decimus Brutus, Cassius, Trebonius, and some others of them, were the very persons whom Caesar, in the highest manner, had obliged; yet it freeing their country from one, whom they called a tyrant: and was executed under the notion of a high heroic virtue, in thus the manner in which it was executed, is this: as soon as he came

conspirators, presented himself, according as it was agreed among them, to demand his brother's pardon, who was banished; but upon Cesar's refusal, under pretence of begging it with greater submission, laid hold of the bottom of his robe, and pulled it so hard, that he made him bend his back: then Casca drew his dag

For Herod having, by the persuasion of the high priest, for fear that the sentence of the sanhedrim should pass against him, made his escape from Jerusalem, and retir-into the senate-house, Attilius Cimber, who was one of the ed to Damascus, where Sextus Cæsar, the prefect of Syria, then resided, and put himself under his protection, he so far insinuated himself with him, that for a sum of money, with which he presented him, he obtained the government of Colo-Syria, where he soon raised anger, and stabbed him in the shoulder, but the wound proved but army, and marched it into Judea, with an intent to have deposed Hyrcanus, and cut off the whole sanhedrim for the indignity they had put upon him by their late process; but his father Antipater, and his brother Phasael, met

der, a Jew, has, at all times, as well in war as peace, approved himself to be our good and trusty friend and ally, as appeareth by several attestations of unquestionable credit, &c. These services and good offices duly considered, I do hereby confirm and establish to him and his heirs, the perpetual government of the Jews, both as their prince and high priest, after the manner and method of their own laws; and from this day forward, enrol them among the number of my trusty and well beloved friends, and ratify an affinity with them as my associates. I ordain likewise that all the legal pontifical rights and privileges be devolved upon him, and his sons for ever; and that in case any controversy shall arise among the people concerning the Jewish discipline, himself and his family, in the course of succession, shall be the only judge of it."-Joseph. Antiq. b. xiv. c. 17.

slight, so that Cæsar fell upon him: but as they were scuffling, side, Cassius at the same time wounded him in the face, and another of the conspirators came behind and stabbed him in the Brutus pierced his thigh. With much courage he still defended himself; but the blood he lost through so many wounds having much weakened him, he went to the foot of Pompey's statue, where he fell and expired, after having been stabbed in three and twenty places by the hands of those whom he thought he had disarmed by his good offices.—Prideaux's Connection, anno 44, and Vertot's Revolution of Rome, c. 13.

6 The matter was conducted thus:-Cassius being informed by Herod of the manner of his father's death, gave him leave to revenge himself on the murderer, and sent his orders to the forces, under his command at Tyre, to be assistant to him therein. On Cassius's taking Laodicea, all the princes and chief lords of Syria and Palestine hastened thither with their presents and congratulations. Hyrcanus, together with Malicus and Herod, put himself upon the road for the same purpose; and as they drew near to Tyre, where they were to lodge that night, Herod invited all the company to sup with him; and sending his servants before, under pretence of providing the

A. M. 3935. A. C. 69; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 3342. A. C. 69. JOS. HIST. b. xiii. e. 19-end op b. xv. No sooner was the death of Malicus, and the manner | vailed with Anthony, that he would not so much as hear of it known at Jerusalem, but a party of his friends rose thein. This, however, did not discourage the Jews that in arms to revenge it on the sons of Antipater; and were his enemies: for when Anthony came to Daphne having gained Hyrcanus, and Felix the commander of near Antioch, a hundred of the most considerable the Roman forces on their side, put the whole city in an among them waited upon him with the like complaints. Herod was then with Fabius, the Roman Here Anthony gave them a hearing; and when he put uproar. governor of Damascus, and there laid up with sickness; it to Hyrcanus, whether the two brothers or their accusso that the whole storm fell upon Phasael, which he ers were in his opinion fittest to govern the state under weathered with full success: for he drove Felix and all him, he gave it for the two brothers; and Anthony, that tumultuous party out of Jerusalem, and when his being minded to do them a farther favour, made them brother recovered and returned, they both together soon both tetrarchs, d and committed all the affairs of Judea quelled the faction, and would doubtless have resented to their administration. This he confirmed by letters the high priest's behaviour upon this occasion with more to the Jews; and to oblige them to obey what he had severity, but that, at this time a match was set on foot done, he detained fifteen of the hundred as hostages, and between Herod and his grand-daughter Mariamne, « would have put them to death, had not Herod saved them which reconciled all differences. But though the faction by his intercession. was, for the present, suppressed, it was not long before their it revived.

After the defeat of Brutus and Cassius, by M. Anthony and Cæsar Octavianus at Philippi, Anthony, coming into Asia, was attended by the deputies of most princes and states in that part of the world, and, among others, with several principal persons of the Jewish nation, who were sent to accuse Phasael and Herod of usurping the government from Hyrcanus: but partly by money, and partly by interest, Herod had so far pre

supper by them, he communicated the orders of Cassius to the commanders of the Roman garrison in the city, who accordingly sent out a party of armed men, that fell upon Malicus as he drew near to the place, and slew him.-Joseph. Antiq. b. xiv.

c. 10; and Jewish Wars, b. i. c. 9.

a She was the daughter of Alexander, the son of king Aristobulus, by Alexandra the daughter of Hyrcanus the second, and therefore was grand-daughter to both these brothers. She was a lady of extraordinary beauty and great virtue, and in all other laudable qualifications, accomplished beyond most of her time; but the true motive for Herod's desiring to make her his wife was, because the Jews at this time had a very zealous affection for the Asmonæan family; and therefore he thought that, by marrying this lady, he should the easier reconcile the hearts of the people to him.—Prideaux's Connection, anno 38.

6 Philippi is a town of Macedonia, to the inhabitants of which St Paul wrote his epistle; but what made this place the most remarkable, was the famous battle that was fought near it, between the army under Octavianus and Anthony, and that under Brutus and Cassius, consisting of near a hundred thousand men each. Brutus and Cassius both commanded in the action; but Octavianus being sick in his tent, the command of the other army fell wholly upon Anthony. The forces commanded by Cassius were soon repulsed, so that he retired to a hill, there to wait for an account of that part of the army which was commanded by Brutus; but in the confusion and dust, not being able to perceive what was doing, his mind misgave him that Brutus was overcome, and thereupon he commanded his servant Pindarus to cut off his head. Brutus, in the first day of action, was so successful, that he made the enemy retire, and took Octavianus's camp; but in a few days after, coming to a second engagement, he was entirely routed; and being loath to fall into the enemy's hands, prevailed with his friend Strabo to despatch him: and what is very remarkable in these two men's deaths, is, that they were both killed with the same swords wherewith they had murdered Cæsar.-Plut. on Brutus; Velleius Paterculus, b. ii. c. 70; Apion on the Civil Wars, b. iv. ; and Dion Cassius, b. xlvii.

This notwithstanding, they did not still give over solicitation; but when Anthony came to Tyre, they sent a thousand of their principal men with the like accusations against the two brothers: but looking on this as a tumult, rather than embassy, he directed his soldiers to fall upon them, so that some of them were slain, and more wounded; and at the same time he sent a peremptory order to the magistrates to assist Herod in the recovery of his government. With this order Herod went to Jerusalem, and would have persuaded the people to receive him, by expostulating the danger of disobeying him, and provoking the Roman general; but instead of regarding his threats or advice, they fell upon him; and by killing some and wounding others of his attendants, so enraged Anthony against them, that he ordered their fifteen hostages to be put to death, and threatened a severe revenge against the rest.

In the mean time Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus, having had long before attempted to possess himself of Judea, but being defeated, and expelled by Herod, fled to Parthia, and was there kindly received and protected. After he had been there some time, and established an interest among the most considerable persons of that nation, he promised them 1000 talents, and 500 of the fineste women in the country, if they would assist him in the recovery of his father's kingdom. The Parthians accepted of the proposal, and the king sent his general along with Antigonus, at the head of a powerful army, to invade Judea. As soon as they had entered the country, great numbers of the Jews joined them in their march; and when they came to Jerusalem, the faction that hated the two brothers declared for them: so that

d This word, which sometimes occurs in scripture, and is pretty frequent among the descendants of Herod the Great, according to the force of the Greek, signifies a lord that has the fourth part of a state, province, or kingdom, without wearing a diadem, or bearing the title of a king: but it must not always be understood in a rigorous sense, because the name of tetrarch was given to him that possessed sometimes a half, and sometimes a third part, of any principality; nay, oftentimes the name of a king was given to him that was but a tetrarch, and that of a kingdom, to a tetrarchy.—Calmet's Dictionary, under the word.

c Octavianus was the son of Caius Octavius, by Atia the daughter of Julia, sister of Julius Cæsar; and therefore Julius e The fourth book of Maccabees (chap. xlix.) says 800 women, adopted him, as being his nephew and next male relation, to be the fairest and best bred in all the country: but Josephus adds, his son; upon his uncle's death he took upon him the name of that Antigonus was not able to make good his contract, by reaCaius Julius Cæsar Octavianus, and by this name he was after-son that Herod had seized on most of the fine women, and sent wards known, till that of Augustus, which was given after the victory at Actium swallowed up all the rest.-Prideaux's Connection, anno 44.

them away with his wife and family to Massada, a place of safe retreat, whilst himself stayed behind with his guards, to cover their march, and prevent their being pursued.

A. M. 3935. A. C. 69; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 5342, A. C. 69. JOS. HIST. b. ziïi, c. 19—END OF b. xv. Herod, not being able to defend the city, especially made himself master of the greatest part of the country, after he found that Hyrcanus, and his brother Phasael took Joppa, relieved Massada, and, taking the castle were taken by the Parthians, and put in chains, made of Ressa in his way, marched directly to Jerusalem, and his escape by night; and taking his mother Cypros, and there encamped on the west side of the city. Antigonus his sister Salome, Mariamne his bride, and Alexandra had provided the place with all warlike munitions, and the mother of Mariamne with him, made the best of his a good garrison, which, with darts and stones from the way to Massada, a prodigious strong fortress, built on walls, and flying parties frequently making excursions, the top of a very high mountain, near the west side of the very much infested Herod's army. Herod, in hopes lake Asphaltites; and having furnished it with provisions of making easy work of it, sent a herald about the walls, for several months, he there left his mother, and the to proclaim indemnity to all that would submit. Antiother women of quality, whom he had brought with him gonus, on the contrary, directed his speech to Silo and from Jerusalem, under the care and government of Jo- the Romans, complained of the injustice they did him, in seph, another of his brothers, and so took his way to transferring the crown from him, who was of royal dePetra in Arabia, hoping to procure some assistance from scent, to a plebeian, and half Jew, as Herod was: and Malchus, who had succeeded Aretas, as king of that from these, and such like reproaches on both sides, they country but before he reached Petra, he received a came at length to acts of hostility, wherein Antigonus message from Malchus, desiring him to depart his domin- and his men behaved themselves so valiantly, that they ions, because he was afraid he should offend the Par- soon drove the enemy from the walls. thians, who were his neighbours, if he should receive him.

:

Ventidius, indeed, had left Silo in Judea, to be assistant to Herod in the reduction of Jerusalem: but in his manner of managing the war, which was to get great sums from Herod to promote his interest, and greater from Antigonus to hinder it, he did him more harm than good: for he did not only take all methods to squeeze him, but encouraged his soldiers likewise to mutiny, on pretence of wanting forage and provisions, more com

The Parthians, when they found that Herod was gone from Jerusalem, after they had plundered the place, and the country round about, made Antigonus, as they had agreed, king of Judea, and delivered to him Hyrcanus and Phasael in chains. Phasael, knowing that his death was determined, put a voluntary end to his life and sufferings. For not having the liberty of his hands to dis-modious quarters, and better pay; which, when at any patch himself, he beat out his brains against the wall of the prison, and Hyrcanus, to incapacitate him from being any longer high priest, had his ears cut off, and was then delivered back again to the Parthians, by them to be carried into the east, who, upon their return, left him at Seleucia.

Herod, having met with this unworthy treatment in Arabia, made what haste he could into Egypt, but when he came to Rinocorura, he there was informed of his brother's death, and in what manner he had effected it; from thence he went to Pelusium, and so to Alexandria, where he took ship, and after a voyage of no small danger and difficulty, landed at Brundusium, from whence he proceeded to Rome; and having acquainted M. Anthony with the miserable state of his affairs in Judea, he most earnestly prayed his aid,

Anthony, remembering his friendship which he had with his father first, and afterwards with him, and being exasperated against Antigonus, whom he always looked upon as an enemy to the Roman people, and not a little affected with the promises which Herod had made, of giving him a large sum of money, if ever he should be reinstated; not only warmly espoused his cause himself, but engaged likewise Octavianus, who was afterwards called Augustus, so closely in his interest, that, by the help and influence of these two men, the senate unanimously decreed that Herod should be king of Judea, and Antigonus declared an enemy to the commonwealth. Having in the short space of seven days dispatched his affairs thus prosperously, he left Rome, and landing at Ptolemais, began to raise forces, with a design to march against Antigonus, who, ever since his departure, had besieged the fortress of Massada. With these, and such Roman auxiliaries as he received from Ventidius, Anthony's general, and Silo his lieutenant in Palestine, he

1 Lev. xxi. 18-24.

time Herod endeavoured to remedy, Antigonus, having notice of all that passed, with flying parties and ambuscades, frequently intercepted and cut off the convoys that were designed for the united army: though Herod, who was as active and diligent as the enemy, very often came up with them, and pursued his advantage so closely, that, having with some difficulty recovered all Galilee from Antigonus, he, after that, betook himself to rid it of those gangs of thieves and banditti, which at that time very much infested it.

a

All this while the siege of Jerusalem went on but slowly; and Herod, perceiving that the Roman generals were very cool to his interest, was resolved to go again to Anthony, who was then besieging Samosata, a city upon the Euphrates, to make a representation of their behaviour. During his absence, he left his brother Joseph to command in Judea, giving strict orders to put nothing to the hazard until his return; but Joseph forgetting this, ventured upon an expedition against Jericho, where, being circumvented by the enemy, he was slain himself, and most of his forces cut to pieces; which gave those that were disaffected to Herod, both in Galilee and Idumæa, an opportunity of revolting. Anthony, when he heard that Herod was coming, drew out his army to receive him, and, while he staid with him, showed him all the marks of friendship and esteem: but, designing himself to go into Egypt,' he left the

a These thieves had so sheltered themselves in the caves, and holes of the mountains, that it was no easy matter to come at them, because the steepness and cragginess of the mountains made it almost impossible, either to scale them from below, or from above to get down to them by any passage; and therefore, to ferret them out of their dens, Herod was forced to make certain large chests, and, filling them with soldiers, to let them down into the entrance of these caves by chains from engines which he had fixed above; by which means, he either destroyed

all that lurked in them, or else reduced them to terms of submission.-Joseph. Antiq. b. xiv.

6 Where Cleopatra, at this time, was queen: who, by the

1

A. M. 3935. A. C. 69; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 5342. A. C. 69, JOS. HIST. b. xiii. c. 19. END OF b. xv. army with Socius, ordering him to assist Herod upon all occasions; and he accordingly gave him two legions for the guard of his person, and marched after himself with the rest of the forces.

Upon his return from Anthony, Herod, while he was at Daphne, had an account of his brother's death and defeat, which made him hasten to mount Lebanon, where he raised eight hundred of the natives, and with these and the Roman forces came to Ptolemais, and thence marching by night, he passed through Galilee, subdued all that came in his way, and forced the rest into their strongholds. But while he was hastening towards Jericho, with an intent to avenge his brother Joseph's death, a party of six thousand of the enemy came resolutely down the hills, and put the Romans into great consternation, beating back the vanguard, and pursuing them home to their camp, where they so warmly engaged them, that Herod himself was wounded in the conflict: but, not long after, when Antigonus, flushed with this success, had sent Pappus his general, with the main strength of his forces against him, he gave them an entire defeat, slew Pappus in the rout, and, had it not been for the severity of the winter, which was now approaching, had gone immediately to Jerusalem, and so made an end of the war: but that he was forced to refer to the operations of the next campaign.

When Herod came before Jerusalem, his own army consisted of about thirty thousand, to which Socius brought eleven legions of foot, and six thousand horse, besides the auxiliary troops of Syria. However, the city held out several months with a great deal of resolution; but, at last, the besieged being beaten out of all their places of defence, and the enemy exasperated at the length and tediousness of the siege, all things were in the utmost confusion. Rapine and devastation was the general work; and death and slaughter raged every where, without distinction of age or sex. In vain did Herod endeavour to put a stop to this rage and cruelty. "The spoils of the city, he was told, were the soldiers' due, as a reward for their labour and valour in taking it." So that, with a large sum of money, he was forced to preserve and redeem it.

charms of her beauty and wit, had drawn him into those snares which held him enslaved to her as long as he lived, and, in the end, caused his ruin. She was a woman of great parts, and spoke several languages, as well as Latin and Greek, very fluently; but then she was a person of great vices, and, among others, of such insatiable avarice and ambition, that she made a conscience of nothing if she could but get by it. Her brother, a youth of about fifteen years of age, she caused to be dispatched, and prevailed with Anthony to have her sister Arsinoe cut off at Ephesus, even in the temple of Diana. Anthony indeed was a man of a sweet temper, and great generosity, an eloquent speaker, and a complete master in all military abilities: but then he was a great libertine in his way, and so eager in the pursuit of his unlawful pleasures, that he stuck at nothing to attain them; by which means he brought himself so absolutely under the command of this wicked and voluptuous woman, that, as Josephus expresses it, "she seems, not only to have captivated, but bewitched him."-Prideaux's Connection, anno 30, and Joseph. Antiq. b. xv. c. 4.

a It is generally thought, that a legion was composed of ten !cohorts; a cohort, of fifty maniples; a maniple, of fifty men, and consequently that a legion was a body of six thousand soldiers; but others are clearly of opinion, that it was an uncertain number, and contained sometimes four, sometimes five, and sometimes six thousand men.-Calmet's Dictionary, under the word, and Prideaus's Connection, anno 37, in the notes.

Antigonus, seeing all lost, surrendered himself to Socius, and, in a submissive and abject manner, fell at his feet, imploring mercy: but Socius, insulting his meanness of spirit and want of courage, had him put in chains; and so leaving Herod in full possession of the kingdom, took his prisoner along with him to Anthony. Anthony, at first, intended to have reserved Antigonus in order to grace his triumph; but Herod, not thinking himself safe in his kingdom, as long as this remainder of the royal family continued alive, never left soliciting him, till at length, by a good sum of money, he obtained that this poor prince should be put to death; and, with him ended the reign of the famous and illustrious house of the Asmonæans; illustrious in itself, for the long continuance of the regal and sacerdotal succession in it, and no less famous for the many signal services which they and their ancestors, from time to time, had done the public, after it had lasted, from the beginning of Judas Maccabæus to this time, one hundred and twentynine years.

As soon as Herod had got full possession of the kingdom of Judea, he began to revenge himself on all those whom he looked upon as his enemies; and, among these, put all the members of the great sanhedrim to death, except Pollio and Simeas, who, during the siege, were all along for delivering up the city to Herod, whereas all the rest opposed the motion, and did what they could to excite the people to that fierce and obstinate resistance which they made. All this while Hyrcanus was captive in Parthia; and, as the people wanted a high priest, Herod's business was to choose a man of obscurity to that office, who, having no credit or interest at Jerusalem, might not be capable, notwithstanding his high station and dignity in the church, to interfere with

They are so named by Josephus; but the Jewish writers generally call them Hillel and Shammai; and of Hillel, in particular, they give us this account, namely, that he was born in Babylonia, and there lived till he was forty years old; that when he came to Jerusalem, he betook himself to the study of the law, in which he grew so eminent, that, after forty years more, he became president of the sanhedrim, and that in this office he continued forty years after; so that, according to this account, he lived full a hundred and twenty years; but the Jewish writers, for the sake of a round number, are frequently negligent whether they are exact or not in their chronological computations. Of Shammai they likewise tell us, that he was for some time the scholar of Hillel, and upon the removal of Manahem into Herod's service, was made vice-president of the sanhedrim in his room; and that of all the Tannaim or Mishnical doctors, he came nearest to his master in eminence of learning, though in many points he differed in opinion from him. What we are chiefly to observe in relation to these two men at present is,that Herod should thus generously forgive them both, though Shammai, or Simeas, was the person who appeared so intrepid against him at his trial before the sanhedrim, and Hillel, or Pollio, had all along warmly espoused the party of Hyrcanus. It must be presumed, however, that these two great men, whom he not only spared above all the rest, but took into his especial favour and confidence, had, during the siege, taken care to make their peace with him, by exhorting the besieged to a surrender: for while the contrary faction was encouraging the people with crying out, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord,' and making them expect some miraculous deliverance, these two wise politicians, foreseeing that the city could not hold out much longer against such a vigorous siege, and under the exces sive want of all provisions, told them, in short, that all resistance was in vain, since God, for their sins, was now bringing them into subjection to this foreigner; and this piece of service, had Herod been of a more vindictive temper than he really was, could not well fail of reconciling them to his favour.-Prideaux's Connection, anno 37; and Joseph. Antiq. b. xv. c. 1.

A. M. 3935. A. C. 69; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 5342. A. C. 69. JOS. HIST. b. xiii. c. 19-END OF b. xv. the regal authority; and accordingly he sent for one | their journey stopped. Herod, however, for fear of Ananel from Babylon, who was of the pontifical family Cleopatra, was forced to suspend his resentment, and indeed, but of no farther merit, than that he was an making a virtue of necessity, prètended with great acquaintance of Herod's, and put him into the office. clemency to pardon in both what he could not well Mariamne, his best beloved wife, had then a brother, punish in either: but in a short time he had his revenge. whose name was Aristobulus, to whom by right of birth At the approach of the feast of tabernacles, Aristothe high priesthood did belong; and, as she was con- bulus was to officiate as high priest. He was a very tinually soliciting him in behalf of her brother, so her beautiful person, tall and well shaped, and in the eighmother Alexandra, who was the daughter of Hyrcanus, teenth year of his age. In the time of his officiating he and a woman of a high spirit, wrote to Cleopatra queen discharged himself with so becoming a reverence, and of Egypt, who had an absolute ascendant over Anthony, the splendour of the pontifical robes added such a lustre to incline him to bestow the pontifical honour upon her to the gracefulness of his person, that by both these he son: so that for fear of offending Anthony, more than captivated the affections of the people, and every man's for gratifying of the ladies, he deposed Ananel, and mouth was full of his praises; which raised the tyrant's made Aristobulus, who was then but a youth of seven- jealousy to such a degree, that as soon as the festival teen years old, high priest in his stead. was over, he had him drowned at Jericho, though, to make his death pass for an unhappy accident, wherein he had no hand, he acted the part of chief mourner, and expended a large sum in a splendid funeral for him: but his hypocrisy was seen through, and detested by all.

When Phraortes came to be king of Parthia, and was informed of Hyrcanus's character and quality, he treated him with great courtesy: for he ordered him to be released from his chains, and allowed him to reside at Babylon, which was then part of the Parthian empire, and where a great number of Jews dwelt, who paid him both the reverence due to a high priest, and the honour due to a king.

In this condition Hyrcanus might have lived and ended his days very happily; but, being desirous of returning to his native country, he began to entertain great hopes of Herod's friendship, as having been once the preserver of his life, when he was arraigned before the sanhedrim, and the founder indeed of all his fortunes. Herod, on the other hand, was as desirous to have Hyrcanus in his power as the other was to come: and therefore he not only invited him with great earnestness and greater promises, but sent an embassy to Phraortes to solicit his return. Thus having obtained the king's dismission, the unfortunate old prince was carried back to Jerusalem, and, for some time, treated by Herod with all the outward tokens of kindness and respect.

His daughter Alexandra having, by her interest with Cleopatra, obtained the high priesthood for her son, thought that (as it was his right) she might by the same means procure him the crown, and therefore went on intriguing with Cleopatra, which when Herod came to understand, he confined her to the palace, and set spies upon her. This she resented with great indignation, as being made a prisoner, and therefore formed a design to make her escape, and to carry her son with her into Egypt to Cleopatra, who, upon this occasion, had invited them thither. But the design was discovered, and

a This is the third person that had been deposed from the pontifical dignity since the time of the return from the Babylonish captivity; and Herod was so sensible of the illegality of it, that when Anthony sent to him to desire him to put Aristobulus into Ananel's place, at first he excused himself, by alleging, that such depositions were contrary to the Mosaic law, which enjoined that the dignity should last as long as the life of the possessor, unless some defect happened to disqualify him. The first instance we meet with of this kind is that of Jason's supplanting his brother Ouias, and by a larger sum of money, buying that office of Antiochus, in prejudice of the incumbent. The other was that of Hyrcanus, by his nephew Aristobulus, who wrested that dignity from him by main force. But these depositions became afterwards so frequent, that there was hardly any other way of coming into that office, but by the expulsion of the incumbent.-Universal History, b. ii. c. 11.

Alexandra, in particular, was inconsolable for the loss of her son; nor could she have survived it, but for the hopes of having an opportunity of being revenged. To this purpose, having acquainted Cleopatra with the murder, she so represented Herod's villany, and her own distress, as moved the queen's compassion, and engaged her to do her utmost to revenge her cause: for she never left soliciting Anthony, till, at length, she prevailed with him to call Herod to an account for this wicked fact But when Herod appeared before him, by fair words and large presents, he so effectually wrought upon Anthony, that instead of condemning, he seemed to vindicate him for what he had done: whereupon, returning with much joy, and in triumph as it were over his accusers, he grew more tyrannical than ever, and in a short time shut up Alexandra in close confinement.

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When he went to appear before Anthony, he left bis uncle Joseph in the administration of the government, and gave him particular charge, that in case Anthony should put him to death, he should not suffer Mariamte, ¦ his best beloved wife, to survive the first news of it, that none, as he proceeded, might enjoy so rare a beauty but himself. In his absence, some words had passed between Marianne and his sister Salome, wherein the queen reproached her with the meanness of her original in comparison of the royal stock of the Asmonæans from whom she descended. This the other was resolves

b Herod had invited him to an entertainment at Jericho, azi when after dinner several of his attendants bathed themselvs in a fish pond, Aristobulus was prevailed upon to bear them. company; but no sooner was he plunged into the water, h those that were in it before, according as they were direct by Herod, ducked and dipped him, by way of sport and play, at they pretended, so long under water, that at length he was ac ally drowned.-Jewish. Antiq. b. xv. c. 3.

c This he did, not so much that none else might have the ejoyment of the beautiful Mariamne, as that none might be alive of the Asmonean family to claim the crown, in opposite | to that disposal which he had made of it to his brother Pherora Alexandra, the mother of Mariamne, he knew very well was i crafty and aspiring woman; and, therefore, being apprehens that the scheme which he had laid for the succession, could a take place, if either she, or her daughter were left alive str him, he ordered that both of them should be put to death, case he should miscarry in his application to Anthony.—Jeag Antiq. b. xv. c. 11.