"Your words are wonderful to me," said Naomi. "I cannot think that you are trying to deceive me; and yet I cannot believe that all these strange things did really take place. I ought not, perhaps, to listen to you; and doubtless, my father, who is a priest of the holy temple, would be greatly displeased if he knew that I was holding converse with a Nazarene; and yet I feel an unaccountable interest in what you have been relating, and a strong desire to hear more of the Christian's faith and the Christian's God. Did you often see this Jesus of Nazareth before he was put to death, and did you then believe in him? I know that his disciples declared that he performed many and wonderful miracles; but our elders say that he worked them by the powers of Beelzebub, like the sorcerers of old. Did you ever witness any of these miracles?"
"Yes, my child, I was so highly favoured as to be present when he performed one of his most merciful and glorious miracles; for I am Mary, the sister of that Lazarus of Bethany whom he raised from the dead, and I beheld my brother come forth from the grave, where he had lain for several days, at the Almighty voice of the Son of God!"
"Oh, tell me that wonderful story," cried Naomi. "I have heard that Jesus did once raise a dead man to life, but I did not believe it; or I thought that if it was really true, yet that it was done by the assistance of evil spirits, or at all events that it was only performed at the command, and by the power of Almighty God, bestowed on him for that particular purpose, as it once was on our great prophet Elijah."
"It is true that the Lord Jesus did restore several persons to life, besides healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, giving sight to the blind, and speech to the dumb, and casting devils out of those who were possessed. But in all these miraculous works he differed from the prophets and holy men who have in former days been permitted to perform some similar wonders; for they only acted by the command of God, and had no power of themselves to restore the life, and health, and faculties which God alone can give or take away. But Jesus Christ possessed this power in himself, as the eternal Son of the Most High God; and he employed it according to his own most gracious will, saying to the leper, 'Be thou healed;' to the deaf and dumb, 'Be opened;' to the devils, 'I command thee to come out;' to the lame and the palsied, 'Take up thy bed and walk;' and to the dead, 'I say unto thee, arise'—'Lazarus, come forth!' The wind ceased at his command, and the waves were calm at the sound of his voice; and what was more wondrous still, the hearts of many sinners were changed; and those who had been vile and reprobate became sincere and godly men, living lives of devotion to the honour of God their Saviour, and the good of their fellow-creatures; and at last sealing their faith with their blood, and dying for the sake of Him who had died for them."
The earnestness with which the aged Mary spoke had almost overpowered her, and she stood still and trembled. Naomi, who was profoundly interested in her discourse, and most desirous that she should continue her recital, proposed to her that they should sit down on a grassy bank by the roadside, and there wait the return of Deborah from the village, which was not now far distant; and Mary could proceed thither at leisure, after resting herself from the fatigue of the ascent, and the excitement of speaking on a subject in which her heart was so deeply engaged. She told Naomi that she should wish to proceed a little further on the road before they seated themselves, for that the sacred and interesting spot where her brother had lain in his temporary grave was but a few paces distant; and there, where she herself frequently resorted to meditate on the astonishing event of his resurrection, she would detail to her young friend all the particulars that had marked the transaction.
NAOMI, AND MARY THE SISTER OF LAZARUS.NAOMI, AND MARY THE SISTER OF LAZARUS.
They accordingly advanced beneath some precipitous rocks that overhung the road on one side, and which were broken by several chasms, extending a considerable depth into the surface. At one of these caves, larger and deeper than the rest, Mary paused, and invited Naomi to descend a few rough steps, that led to a small and rocky area in front of the cavern where the body of Lazarus was laid. Here, in full view of the dark sepulchre, they sat down on a fallen mass of stone, while Mary related to her attentive auditor the scenes that were indelibly impressed on her own memory.
"You will not wonder, my dear young friend," she said, "at the warmth with which I speak of the blessed Jesus, when I tell you of all his mercy and love towards me and my brother and sister. He often retired to Bethany from the noise and crowd of the city, and our house was honoured by being made his home. The light of his countenance shed joy and peace over our dwelling, and his words were as heavenly music, to which we could have listened for ever. Oh! it was a blessed privilege to sit at his feet, and hear his words, and receive the divine instruction that flowed from his gracious lips. It was in the month Tisri,[2] a few days after our beloved Master had spent a day in our humble dwelling on his return into the country from attending the feast of tabernacles, that our brother Lazarus fell sick, and we soon perceived that his sickness was mortal. My sister and I were in deep distress; but we remembered the power and love of Jesus, and we delayed not to send a messenger to Bethabara, beyond Jordan, where we knew that he abode at that time. We could not doubt his willingness to succour us in our affliction, for he loved Lazarus, and he loved us also. Therefore we only sent to him, saying, 'Lord, behold he whom thou lovest is sick;' and we were fully convinced that he would instantly return to us and heal our brother. But our messenger had not long been gone when a fearful change took place in Lazarus. The fever increased, the struggles of death came on, and in anguish and despair we saw our only, our beloved brother expire! Did not Jesus know what was passing beneath our humble roof at Bethany? And could not he, who had performed so many miracles, have stayed the hand of death, and restored Lazarus to health with one word of his mouth? Such were the thoughts of our faithless hearts while weeping over the bed of death, and preparing for the hasty burial which is customary and necessary in this climate.
[2] The Hebrew month answering to a part of our September and a part of October.
"The place where Jesus then abode was a day's journey from Bethany; and Lazarus was laid in his cold grave almost at the moment when our messenger reached him who we hoped would come and heal him. The following day we expected to see our Lord arrive, if not to restore our brother, yet to comfort our bleeding hearts with his words of grace and love. But the messenger returned alone; and the reply which he brought us only weakened our expiring faith. Jesus had said to him, 'This sickness is not unto death,' and yet Lazarus was in the grave—what could we believe? what could we hope?
"Two more days, long melancholy days, passed away, and we sat mourning in our house, once the abode of happiness, and peace, and brotherly love—now gloomy and silent, save when the cry of the mourners, who sat with us on the ground, burst forth in a wild and sudden wail, and caused our tears to flow afresh. Many of our friends had come from the city to comfort us; but their sympathy brought us no relief, for our brother was dead, and Jesus had forsaken us; and all the consolation that Christians may now feel in the knowledge that Christ has purchased for them life and immortality, was but dimly understood by us. We had an uncertain hope that hereafter we should meet our brother in a happier world, and that Jesus would, with his own blood, wipe away all our sins and all our sorrows for ever. While we sat bowed down with grief, we heard a sound as of a distant multitude. The noise approached, and we soon perceived that Jesus and his disciples were drawing near the town. How anxiously had we watched and waited for that sound during the sad days that preceded our brother's death! But now it came too late—our faithless hearts dared not to indulge a hope that Lazarus should live again. Nevertheless Martha rose hastily, and went forth to meet our Lord, but I did not go with her; I sat still in the house, oppressed with sorrow. Soon she returned to me, and whispered softly, 'The Master is come, and calleth for thee,' and quickly I rose and went unto him; for he was still in the place where Martha met him, outside the town. When I saw his kind and gracious countenance, and thought on all his power and all his love, my grief and disappointed hopes overpowered my feelings of veneration and respect; and falling down at his feet, I exclaimed in the bitterness of my spirit, 'Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died!' It was a sinful murmur, but the merciful Jesus saw only the sorrow that dictated it, and did not reprove me; nay more, he sympathised in our human sufferings, and when he saw me weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with me, he groaned aloud, and his countenance was troubled, and he said, 'Where have ye laid him?' We said to him, 'Lord, come and see;' and we led him towards this spot. Jesus wept! Yes, my child, he who had power over earth and heaven, the eternal Son of God, shed tears of sorrow for the death of his friend. He knew that that death would soon be chased away; he knew that at his word the dead would rise and all our grief would be swallowed up in joy, but yet he wept at the sight of human misery and woe. At length we reached the sepulchre; a large stone was placed before that cave which contained the body of Lazarus, and Jesus commanded us to remove it. Still did we not believe his gracious intentions; and my sister remonstrated against the stone being taken away, as she feared that ere that time putrefaction had begun, and that the remains of our dear brother were a prey to the worms. But Jesus gently reminded her of what he had said to her when first she went forth to meet him, saying, 'Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?' Then did hope once more animate our breasts, and in breathless anxiety we watched to see the end. When the heavy stone was taken away, there lay the lifeless corpse wrapped in grave-cloths. Jesus lifted up his eyes, and praised his heavenly Father; and then in a loud voice he cried, 'Lazarus, come forth!' What a thrill passed through the heart of every one of those who stood by, when from that dark cave we saw the dead arise and come forth endued with life! At the command of Jesus we hastily took away the cloths in which his hands and feet and face were bound, and beheld once more the beloved countenance of our brother, beaming with the same tender affection that was ever wont to animate it. I will not attempt to describe to you the joy and gratitude that filled our hearts, or the wonder that struck upon all who had witnessed this miracle. Many henceforth believed in Jesus, and this day was to them the beginning of life and eternal salvation: but some there were who could not be convinced, even by what they had seen, that Jesus was the Christ; and they went and told his deadly enemies the Pharisees, who were jealous of every wonderful work that he performed, and feared that the people should believe on him."
"Oh!" cried Naomi, "is it possible that any could behold such proofs of his power and his goodness, and yet seek to betray him into the hands of those who hated him! I am filled with wonder and amazement at all you have told me; and I am almost tempted to believe that ha was indeed Messiah. But then wherefore was he poor, and despised, and forsaken, and crucified? Wherefore did he not crush all his enemies, and take unto himself his great power, and reign over Judah?"
"I could reply to all those objections, my daughter," replied Mary, "but time will not now permit me. I see your companion coming towards us from the village, and my own strength is exhausted. I cannot recall the feelings of that blessed period of my life without deep emotion; but should we ever meet again, how gladly would I renew the subject, and endeavour to deepen the impression that I see is already made on your young heart."
"Oh that I could meet you often," said Naomi, "and hear more about Jesus of Nazareth. I never felt so deeply interested on any subject, and I cannot endure to think that I may hear of it no more. I almost tremble to propose it, as I know how heavy would be my father's displeasure if I were discovered;—and yet I am resolved to brave it. Will you let me come to your home, when I can do so unsuspected? and will you then let me listen to all that you can tell me? My parents are good and indulgent, and I would not deceive them for any other purpose; but I feel that there is something in your story that concerns my soul, and God will pardon my disobedience, while I am seeking to know his will."
We have said that Naomi was self-willed and impetuous: her feelings were ardent and uncontrolled; and in proportion to the contempt she entertained for the Nazarenes while she was ignorant of the character of Him whom they worshipped, was the admiration she now felt when that character was in some degree displayed to her, and the eagerness of her determination to know more of this gracious and glorious Being. She clasped her hands, and fixed her bright black eyes on Mary's countenance with a look so earnest and imploring, that the aged disciple saw the work of God was begun in her heart, and she doubted not that the work would be completed. She felt it to be a sacred duty to endeavour to snatch this young creature from the errors and prejudices which now obscured her mind, and lead her into the pure light of the Gospel, even though the pious effort was in opposition to the will of her mistaken parents. By the blessing of God, the conversion of their child might be the means of calling them also out of darkness into His marvellous light. She therefore readily consented to receive her young friend whenever she could contrive to visit her, and exhorted her to caution and circumspection, as otherwise danger might befall them both.
"For myself," she added, "it little matters how soon the worn-out thread of my life is severed; but I would not willingly shorten an existence which I may spend in my Master's service, though to depart and be with Christ would be much better. And you, I trust, my child, may have many years before you, in which to honour God, and serve his Son Jesus Christ. I cannot but believe that you will be brought to a knowledge of his name, and be an active and devoted servant of him whom once you hated and despised. Farewell, and may the blessing of the God of Israel be with you, and the grace of his Son Jesus Christ descend upon your heart."
Mary arose, and Naomi took her hand, which she kissed affectionately and respectfully, and then they advanced slowly to meet Deborah, who was hastening towards them with considerable speed.
"I fear," she exclaimed, "that I have kept you very long. I thought you would have entered the village ere this, and would have been tired of waiting for me; but I was detained much longer than I expected: and now we must hurry homewards, or your mother will be alarmed; and Zadok too will be displeased with me for keeping you out so late, if he returns from the evening service to the temple and finds you are not yet at home."
"Is Zadok the priest your father then?" asked Mary, with some anxiety; for she knew the strictness of his character as a Pharisee, and his abhorrence of the Christian name, and she feared that her young friend's dawning faith might be put to a severe trial, and even be extinguished, if Zadok ever obtained knowledge of it.
"Yes," replied Naomi, "I am his daughter, and I glory in saying so; for whose character stands so high as that of Zadok? and who is so kind and so good a father as Zadok? I would that you knew him, Mary."
"God bless you," again said the old woman; and they separated. She slowly bent her steps towards her humble home at Bethany, and lifted up her heart in fervent prayer for the soul of Naomi, who, with her nurse, rapidly descended the mount, crossed the brook, and entering the city, soon reached the abode of Zadok.
BethanyBethany
From the lofty battlements of Jotapata, Josephus and his officers watched the close and endless files of the Roman army slowly advancing along the straight and level road that led to the city walls, and which had been formed by the pioneers of Vespasian. It was a fearful array of tried and valiant troops, led on by the most celebrated general of the time. The Jews had relied on their inaccessible position, their steep and rugged mountains, and the deep forests that surrounded their fortress, for security. What, therefore, was their astonishment and consternation when they saw the lofty trees falling around them, the rocks removed, the mountains cut through, and Vespasian with his whole army stationed on a hill within a mile of the city! The garrison were terror-struck, and retired behind their walls; while the Romans, though weary with their long march, and unprepared for an immediate assault, employed themselves in drawing a triple line of circumvallation round the city; so that every chance of escape for the cowardly, who might wish to attempt it, was effectually cut off. Finding that retreat was hopeless, the whole garrison recovered their wonted valour, and resolved to hold out to the uttermost, and fight while life remained. Their fierce resistance and stubborn resolution have seldom been equalled.
The following day they boldly left the shelter of their walls, and, pitching their camp before the trenches, advanced to meet the foe; and though galled by the archers and slingers of the Roman army, they made so vigorous a sally, that the assailants were driven down the hill. The battle was continued with desperation, until the darkness of night compelled them to separate, when Josephus led his troops back to their stations. Young Javan and his companions distinguished themselves by their determined bravery, which was not unobserved by the Jewish commander; and henceforth he stationed them near his own person, and employed Javan on many important occasions.
The city was built on the summit of a lofty hill, and on three sides was surrounded by ravines, so deep and rugged as to be quite impassable. It is said that the depth of the chasm was in some parts so profound, that, when looking from the summit of the walls, the eye could not reach the bottom. On these three sides, therefore, Vespasian could not hope to gain an entrance; but, on the north side, the city was more accessible, as the hill sloped gradually down from the walls; and here he resolved to raise a great embankment, from the top of which his men could discharge their missiles into the thickest ranks of the besieged. The whole army laboured at this work, defending themselves from the javelins and arrows of the Jews by a roof of wicker-work that was stretched over the workmen, and was strong enough even to resist the great stones that were hurled down by their enemies. To clear the walls of these assailants, Vespasian brought his military engines to bear on that point; and soon the stones and javelins discharged by the balistæ and catapults, and the yet more fearful balls of fire and flaming arrows, fell among the garrison in showers. The battlements were deserted in that quarter, but the Jews were not disheartened. They descended from the walls, and stole out in small parties on the workmen, destroying their breastworks, and wounding many of those who had laid aside their armour. But notwithstanding all their efforts to prevent it, the embankment was at length completed, and brought almost to a level with the height of their own walls, and their only resource was to raise the battlements so as to command the works of the enemy. To effect this, Josephus ordered strong poles to be fixed on the top of the walls, and on these a sort of curtain was fixed, of the hides of cattle, behind which the soldiers could work in safety; and they succeeded in raising the walls upwards of thirty feet. He also erected several towers, and otherwise strengthened the fortifications, to the astonishment and dismay of the Romans, who had flattered themselves that they should soon be masters of the city.
They knew not yet the courage and obstinacy of the Jews, or the ability and cunning of Josephus and his officers. Numerous were the sallies by which they annoyed their besiegers, sometimes even setting fire to the works they had but just erected, and destroying them. On one of these occasions, Javan led forth a small party of chosen men, and rushing upon the breastworks that concealed the enemy, they succeeded in tearing down a considerable portion, and wounding several Roman soldiers, without themselves receiving any injury; when the centurion who held the command of that band of men, hearing the conflict, hastened to their assistance and quickly restored order. He marshalled his men, and led them forward from the breastworks with so much impetuosity, as entirely to check the assailants; and directing his attack towards the young Jewish leader, Javan recognised his old friend Rufus. The centurion remembered him, and for his father's sake he forbore to press his advantage. He would not take the son of Zadok prisoner, or willingly injure him, though now an enemy; and he allowed him and his followers to escape unhurt to the walls. Javan did not imitate his generous forbearance; but as he fled he turned back, and cast a javelin at his former friend with such strength and fury as to shiver a portion of the armour in which he was encased, and inflict a slight wound in his side.
"Ha!" cried Rufus, "my mercy was ill-bestowed. I see that the same cruel and ungenerous spirit yet lives in that young fanatic. Forward, my brave men, and teach him that it was not because we feared him that we drew back." The Romans swiftly obeyed the word of their commander, and overtook the retreating party as they reached the foot of the wall. The portal from whence they had sallied forth was closed; and ere it could be opened by those within, a fierce struggle had begun. Several of the combatants on either side fell dead, or severely wounded; and Javan received a serious injury in his right arm, that left him defenceless, and exposed to the sword of his antagonist. The Roman who had inflicted the wound was about to strike at him with his short, double-edged blade, and his fierce spirit would have been quenched for ever; but at that moment a party of the garrison who had ascended the walls hurled down a massive stone that struck the uplifted arm of his assailant, and threw him with violence to the ground.
"The Lord strikes for his people!" shouted Javan; and snatching up the sword which had fallen to the earth, he with his left hand plunged it to the heart of his foe. Then turning away, he rushed through the now open door, leaving his party to follow him as they could. Similar skirmishes were often repeated, but they led to no important results; and Vespasian determined at length to blockade the city, and endeavour to reduce it by famine, since all his assaults proved ineffectual. He therefore ordered his troops to remain quiet in their quarters, and await the time when, reduced to starvation, the garrison would either surrender, or fall a more easy conquest to their renewed attacks.
The city contained a large supply of every necessary except water; but there was no spring within the walls, and the small quantity of rain-water that could be obtained was quite inadequate to the wants of the garrison and the rest of the inhabitants. This was measured out in very scanty portions, and after the blockade had been continued for some days, many began to faint beneath the severe privation, added to the fatigue they endured, and the fever that parched up the wounded and the sick. The Romans discovered their distress, and hoped for a speedy surrender; but the wily Josephus resolved to baffle their calculations, and he ordered a number of his men to dip their clothes in water, and then hang them over the walls, so that the moisture ran down; and the besiegers could no longer believe that the garrison were in want of water, when they could waste so much unnecessarily. Vespasian therefore resolved to renew the assault, which was exactly what the Jews desired, for it was better to perish by the sword than to die of thirst or famine.
Notwithstanding the close blockade kept up by the Romans, Josephus still contrived to keep up a communication with his friends without the city, by means of a narrow and rugged path down the bed of a torrent. It was so precipitous and dangerous that the Romans left it unguarded; and by this difficult way the messengers of the Jewish commander crept forth on their hands and knees, covered with skins of animals, and thus bearing letters to other towns, and bringing back many articles of great service to the besieged. But at length this was discovered, and all further exit by this passage was prevented. Josephus now began to despair of success, and even held a council with the chief persons in the city as to the possibility of effecting their own escape. This was discovered by the inhabitants, and they hastened to throw themselves at his feet, imploring him not to abandon them to the Roman vengeance. He was moved with pity at the sight of the terrified multitude of men, women, and children kneeling before him, and consented to relinquish his selfish purpose; and seizing the moment when they were filled with gratitude, he exclaimed. "Now is the time, then; if there is no hope of safety let us exert our utmost courage, and let us at least die nobly, and leave behind us a glorious example!" The most courageous of his soldiers gathered round him, and they rushed forth, carrying fire and sword into the enemy's lines. For three days these fierce sallies were repeated, and kept up a constant state of watchfulness and alarm in the Roman camp.
Vespasian, weary of this desultory warfare, now ordered the battering-ram to be brought against the walls. This tremendous engine was composed of an enormous beam of wood, terminating in the head of a ram, cast in iron; this was hung by ropes from another strong beam, supported by four tall posts. When it was required to exert its terrible force, it was drawn backwards by a number of men, and then driven forward with a shock, against which scarcely any wall could resist. This dreadful machine now slowly advanced against the walls of Jotapata, and the smaller engines commenced a quick discharge of stones and darts, to drive the Jews from the walls. Then began the thundering blows of the battering-ram, and the walls shook to their foundation. A cry rose from the city, for all the inhabitants believed that the Romans were even now entering their streets. Still was Josephus able to parry this new danger. He ordered a great number of bags to be stuffed with chaff, and suspended on the face of the wall, so as to meet and break the force of the ram; and this scheme entirely succeeded, to the great astonishment of the Romans. They however continued to sever the ropes to which the bags were tied, by means of sickles fastened to long poles, and then they recommenced their work of destruction. But the Jews rushed forth from their gates in three bodies, armed with flaming torches and every combustible they could seize. They set fire to the engines and the palisades, and drove back their assailants, who were confounded by the fire and smoke. Among the foremost was the fierce Javan, brandishing a flaming brand in his left hand, and carrying destruction and dismay wherever he turned. All the endeavours of the Romans to save their works were ineffectual; they suffered a great loss of men in the engagement, and all that had cost them such labour and ingenuity to erect was in less than one hour reduced to ashes.
One man among the Jews distinguished himself by an act of desperate courage, that has made his name memorable even to the present time. This was Eleazer, the son of Samæas, a Galilean, who standing on the wall at the time of the furious sally made by Josephus, took up an enormous stone, and hurled it at the head of the battering-ram with such force, that it broke off, and fell to the ground. He then descended from the wall and rushed forth into the midst of the enemy, and seizing on the ram's head, carried it off in triumph. The Romans, filled with indignation, cast at him a shower of darts and arrows, five or six of which entered his body: he nevertheless still bore off his prize, and carried it to the top of the wall, where he undauntedly showed himself and his trophy to the infuriated foe. But the wounds he had received were mortal, and sinking beneath them, he fell from the wall with the head of the ram still grasped in his dying hands. His heroic example animated his comrades with fresh courage, and they succeeded in destroying all the engines, and coverings, and breastworks of the fifth and tenth legions, which, notwithstanding their high reputation for bravery and discipline, had fled, confounded by the fierce desperation of their assailants, and blinded by the smoke and flame.
Still the Romans were not discouraged; and in the dusk of the evening they once more erected their terrible battering-ram against that part of the fortifications that was already shaken by its force; but during this operation one of the besieged cast a javelin from the wall, and pierced the neck of Vespasian. The Romans seeing their general wounded, were greatly discouraged, and his son Titus betrayed the deepest concern and alarm; but his father quickly removed their fears, and reappearing among his troops, those who had fled in dismay returned to their duty with fresh animation, and showed a determination to brave every danger in the hope of revenging the insult offered to their beloved general; and with a unanimous shout of defiance, they rushed upon the wall. The stones, darts, and arrows flew in showers upon the besieged, and many fell beneath the deadly strokes; yet others pressed forward to take their places, and in their turn poured fire and stones and pieces of iron upon the besiegers, who worked beneath their hurdles. The fires that burnt around shed a lurid light on this work of death, and guided the aim of the Jews on the walls; but the Romans were unable to distinguish their enemies above them. Nevertheless they continued to pour forth their missiles; and so vast were the stones that were thrown by the balistæ, and so resistless was their force, that they broke through the thickest ranks of the defenders, and striking against the towers and inner walls, brought down heavy pieces of masonry upon the crowds around. One man who stood between Javan and the Jewish commander had his head torn from his shoulders, and carried away to the distance of three furlongs. That was indeed a fearful night. The terrible and continued noise of the engines, the shouts of the soldiers, the screams of the women and children in the city, the groans of the wounded and dying, and the heavy crash of armour on the wall as the slain fell one upon another, formed a deafening and discordant sound that can hardly be conceived, and which was echoed back from the surrounding mountains; while the blood ran in streams from the walls, and stood in pools around their base. Until the morning watch the walls stood firm; but then they yielded before the battering-ram, and a breach was formed. Vespasian gave his wearied men a short respite before he led them on to storm the breach; then posting a strong body of cavalry entirely covered with armour at the foot of the wall, he commanded the infantry to apply the scaling-ladders. Josephus was not idle within; he stationed the least efficient of the garrison on those parts of the walls that were not immediately threatened; but all the best and bravest he disposed in front of the breach; and in the most perilous situation of all he stationed himself and Javan and four others, with directions to stop their ears against the noise of the legionaries, and receive their darts on their bended knees, with their shields locked together over their heads, until their quivers were exhausted, and then to sally forth and fall upon them with all their collected rage, and fight for their lives and their liberties, and those of their wives and children and aged parents. The women seeing the dreadful preparations on either side, gave themselves up for lost, and one wild dismal cry of anguish and despair burst from the crowded streets; but Josephus dreading the effect of their grief and consternation on the soldiers, ordered them all to be locked up in the houses, and with severe threats commanded them to be still.
Now the trumpets sounded for the charge, and the Romans gave a mighty shout, at the same moment sending upon the besieged such a cloud of arrows and darts that the air was darkened. Josephus's brave companions followed his directions, and stopped their ears to the sound, and defended their bodies from the darts. But as soon as the engines had played, and ere the engineers could renew the charge, they sallied forth upon them resolving to slay or be slain, and were followed by many other parties animated with the same desperate resolution. But the Romans at length drove them back, and succeeded in getting a footing on the wall. Josephus had now recourse to stratagem in this extremity, and ordered a quantity of oil to be heated, which, being quickly prepared, was poured in a boiling state on their assailants, and penetrating through the joints of their armour, burnt through their flesh, and maddened them with agony, so that, being unable to tear off their armour, they turned back and fled away, carrying confusion among their comrades; and many of them fell headlong from the narrow bridges by which they had passed to the walls from their embankment. The Jews also poured boiled fenugreek, a kind of herb, on the planks and bridges by which their enemies ascended, and thus made them so slippery that it was impossible for them to stand upright, and many fell with violence to the ground, and in that situation were struck at by those on the walls.
In the evening, Vespasian was forced to call off his discomfited men, of whom a great number were wounded, besides those who lay dead on the field. The loss of the Jotapateans was considerably less, and they were greatly encouraged by the result of that day. The Romans now commenced raising their mounds to a greater height, and also erected three strong and lofty towers, in which were placed bowmen and slingers to keep up a perpetual annoyance of the garrison; and they in their turn made frequent sallies, with no decisive effect, until, on the forty-seventh day of the siege, the enemy raised their works above the level of the walls, and looked down upon the devoted inhabitants. On that same fatal day, treachery effected what force and valour had so long failed to accomplish. One dastardly man was found mean enough to creep out of the city and desert to Vespasian, and inform him of the weak and distressed state of the garrison and the inhabitants of Jotapata. He urged him to make a sudden attack upon the place during the last watch of the night, when, worn out with fighting and watching, the garrison would be in a profound sleep, and even the sentinels would probably be slumbering also, so weary and faint were they now become. At first Vespasian doubted the traitor's story, and thought it was only a stratagem of Josephus to ensnare him; and this suspicion was strengthened by the fidelity and constancy which had hitherto been displayed by the Jotapateans who had fallen into their hands. One man had even endured the sharpest torments by fire, which had been applied by the Romans to induce him to disclose the secrets of the garrison; and, smiling at their cruel efforts, had afterwards patiently sustained the tortures of crucifixion. Vespasian, however, believed that the consequences to his mighty army could be but trifling, even if he were deceived; he therefore kept the deserter in close custody, and gave orders for attacking the city.
At the hour mentioned by the traitor, his troops advanced silently to the walls, and Titus led a small party of the fifth legion to the summit. Here they instantly slew the sentinels before an alarm could be raised, and then quietly entered the city, followed by Placidus and Sextus Cerialis, with Rufus the centurion, and the men under their command. They seized upon the citadel, and, favoured by a thick mist and the drowsiness of the inhabitants, they were in the very heart of the city before the garrison had been aroused to their danger. The entrance of the whole Roman army then showed them the extent of their misfortune, and the furious and indiscriminate slaughter which commenced proved that their enemies remembered all they had suffered in the siege, and were determined to revenge it. They charged down from the citadel, hewing down all who opposed them, and driving the terrified inhabitants into the narrow streets and lanes, where they fell an unresisting prey to their enemies, while many were pushed over the steep precipices by the force of the crowd behind them, and dashed to pieces. A few of the most resolute gathered round Josephus, and several of them, seeing the hopelessness of their situation, died by their own and by each other's hands, rather than be slain by the enemy. A party of the guard fled to a tower, and there made some resistance; but they were soon surrounded and forced to surrender; and the Romans became entire masters of the celebrated city of Jotapata, with the loss of but one of their men. This was a centurion named Antonius, who was slain by an act of cunning. One of the Jews, who had taken refuge in a cave, held out his hand to him, promising to surrender if he would assist him to clamber out. Antonius took his hand, and at that moment the other struck him through the throat with his spear and killed him instantly.
The city was given up that day to a general slaughter, and all who were seen in the houses and streets were put to the sword. The following day a strict search was made in the caves and hiding-places, where multitudes had taken refuge, and of these the men were slain, and the women and children reserved as prisoners. About twelve hundred were collected to be carried away into captivity, and it is supposed that nearly forty thousand were slain from the commencement of the attack on the city. Vespasian then ordered the city to be burnt to the ground, and all its boasted towers and walls were quickly reduced to ashes.
Josephus had been sought for in vain during the carnage; no pains were spared to discover and capture him, who was the chief object of the siege, and who had excited the resentment of the Romans and their general by the obstinacy of his resistance. On the taking of the city, when he saw that all other hope of safety was gone, he had leaped down a dry well, from the bottom of which he knew that a long passage led to a subterranean cave, entirely concealed from the view of those above. Here he found forty men of consequence and note, and among them his young friend Javan, who had all sought refuge in this secure retreat, and with them was one woman, the wife of a citizen of the party. These persons had hastily collected, and carried down to the cave, a sufficient quantity of provisions to sustain them for several days; and Javan being separated from his general, and hopeless of any success by further resistance, had joined them, and shared their place of concealment. Josephus remained in the cave during the day, but at night he ascended, accompanied by Javan, and sought to effect his escape; but finding every avenue strictly guarded, he was compelled to return to the cave. The third night he was attended by the citizen's wife, who promised to point out to him a secret way by which he could escape; but she had deceived him, and as soon as she had conducted him within hearing of the sentinels, she fled from him, and betrayed to the soldiers where he made his hiding-place. This was immediately made known to Vespasian, who sent two tribunes, named Paulinus and Gallicanus, to persuade him to surrender. He had returned to the cave, and was startled by hearing his own name loudly called from the top of the well; and the tribunes proceeded to deliver to him their general's offer of mercy. But Josephus had no dependence on the mercy of the Romans, and refused to come up, till Vespasian sent another tribune, named Nicanor, with whom he was well acquainted, and who, by various arguments and promises, at length induced him to consent.
But the Jews, who were in the cave with him now opposed this resolution, and reproached him severely for his cowardice and fear of death, which could induce him to give himself up voluntarily to the Romans. They reminded him how often he had exhorted them to die rather than submit to their enemies, and how many of their fellow-citizens and soldiers had already done so; and they declared that if he could forget his own honour, they would take care that he did not disgrace their country. They therefore gave him his choice, whether he would die nobly and voluntarily by their hands, and be for ever remembered with honour as the valiant general of the Jews, or persist in his intention and be slain as a traitor, which they declared should be his fate the moment he attempted to go forth to the tribunes. And, saying this, they surrounded him with their naked swords, and awaited his reply.
Josephus now exerted all his wonted eloquence, in the effort to save his own life, and to persuade his companions to join him in surrendering to the conquerors. But however ingenious his arguments and powerful his appeals, they failed to move his auditors, who were only the more enraged at him, and rushed against him with their swords. He stood like a wild beast at bay, parrying the strokes of some, calling on others by name, entreating, commanding, imploring.
"Javan!" he cried, "do you join to murder your general? you, who have fought so bravely by my side, and gloried in my approbation. If these Galileans would take away my life, will you, a true-born Jew, desert me?"
Javan regarded him at that moment with a feeling of pity and contempt. He dropped his sword, and his example was followed by the rest, some of whom still entertained a regard for the general, who had hitherto displayed such wisdom and courage in the defence of their town. He seized the favourable moment, and exclaimed, "If you are resolved to die, let us cast lots who shall first be slain. Thus each will suffer death in turn; and yet none incur the guilt of dying by his own hand. It would be dishonourable in me to survive, if all the rest are determined to perish." This proposal was readily acceded to, for all believed that Josephus would share the same fate with themselves. The lots were cast, and one by one these undaunted men offered their breasts to the sword of him who was doomed to be his executioner. Whether by chance, or, which is more probable, by artifice, so it was that the lot fell not on Josephus, until all were slain except himself and one other. That other was young Javan; and his fierce spirit did not shrink from enduring the death which he had just inflicted on the last of his companions. But his general felt equally repugnant thus in cold blood either to slay a fellow-creature, or to submit to the stroke of death from him; and promising him his future friendship, he at length so worked on the young man's feelings and natural love of life, that he agreed to ascend with him and submit to the promised clemency of Vespasian.
Nicanor immediately led them to the general, while all the Romans crowded round to obtain a sight of this distinguished man. Many from a distance cried out that he should be punished with death; but those who stood near, and regarded his fallen countenance, were touched with pity for his misfortunes, and admiration of his great and noble exploits; and Titus, above all the rest, was filled with sympathy for the captive. He persuaded his father to grant Josephus his life; but he was kept closely guarded, and it was supposed he would be sent immediately to Rome to the Emperor Nero. Josephus dreaded this event, and in the hope of avoiding it, he entreated a private interview with Vespasian; and all having withdrawn, except Titus and two other friends, he declared that it was not from a love of life that he had given himself up to the Romans, but because he was commissioned to announce to Vespasian and his son that they were appointed to succeed to the imperial dignity. He then implored that he might not be sent to Nero, but be kept in chains, if it was thought necessary, until his prediction was fulfilled; for he acknowledged, that if he should be found guilty of having deceived his conqueror in the name of the God of Israel, he should deserve a worse punishment than captivity.
Vespasian was struck with the prophetic promises of the captive; yet suspecting his sincerity, he asked him how it was that if he could foretell future events, he had not foreseen the fall of Jotapata and his own captivity, and sought to avert the calamity. Josephus replied that he had repeatedly warned the Jotapateans of their coming fate, and told them that they would hold out the siege for forty-seven days, when they would be conquered, and he himself taken prisoner. On this declaration the Roman general caused inquiry to be made among the prisoners as to its truth; when they asserted that such prophecies had actually been pronounced by their leader. Whether this was really the case or not, we cannot now determine; but it had the effect of impressing on Vespasian's mind the prediction of his own future greatness; and though he did not set the prophet at liberty, he treated him with great kindness, and made him several valuable presents. Javan also was kept in strict captivity with the other prisoners who were reserved either for sale or as domestic slaves to their conquerors. The rough but kind-hearted Rufus visited him frequently, and took many opportunities of adding to his comforts, and enlivening his spirits by his conversation and encouragement. But he could not resist reminding Javan of the unworthy return he had once made to his forbearance and friendship, when he wounded him so ungratefully after his sally from the walls. "Methinks," he said, "that the generosity and virtue of one whom you call a heathen, has shown itself to be superior to the boasted religion of the Jews; for I forgive you, and come to your relief, and you sought to slay me at the moment when I forbore to injure you."
This reproach cut the proud self-righteous Pharisee to the heart, but he could not reply to it; and Rufus changed the subject, to talk to him of their mutual friends at Jerusalem.
Would to God there were among ourselves no nominal Christians, who by their cruel and vindictive, or otherwise unchristian spirit, give occasion to the enemies of our holy religion to speak evil of that which they profess, but do not follow. But even as they were not true children of Abraham, who trusted to themselves that they were righteous,—and, while indulging pride and cruelty, and revenge, yet despised others,—neither are we all Christians who are called by the name of Christ, if we seek not to imitate the charity, and meekness, and holiness, and love that shone forth in the life of our Master and Redeemer.
Interior of the Golden GateInterior of the Golden Gate
It was on the sabbath-day that the intelligence of the fall of Jotapata, and the massacre of the garrison and inhabitants, reached Jerusalem; and the dreadful news brought grief and consternation into the city. Their chief warrior, on whom they depended as the leader of their armies, was reported to have fallen; their choicest troops were slain; and one of the strongest of the Galilean fortresses destroyed. But though the dejection and sorrow were general, yet in some families it was more profound and heartfelt, for they had lost a son, a brother, or a husband among the Jewish troops. In Zadok's house the sound of mourning and woe was heard, for it was believed that Javan was slain. He had joined the army of Josephus, and was known to be present at the siege of Jotapata; and as all the garrison as well as the inhabitants were reported to be massacred, his parents, his sister, and the faithful old Deborah wept and lamented for him as dead, with all the vehemence, and the deep demonstrations of grief, that were always exhibited by the ancient Jews, and still distinguish the inhabitants of the East in all cases of severe affliction. Javan's faults were now forgotten, and it was only remembered that he was a son and a brother; and even Claudia, who had never loved him, was filled with sorrow at the thought of his untimely and cruel death. Zadok sought in vain to console his weeping family; while his own heart was torn with grief for his lost son, and saddened at the unhappy prospects of his ill fated country.
But while he was absorbed in gloomy thoughts, the trumpets of the temple sounded long and loud, and reminded him that it was the hour for the evening sacrifice, and that he must lay aside all worldly feelings, and go forth to minister in the Lord's house. It was his turn that day to officiate at the altar in the order of his course; and no private business or private sorrow must be allowed to interfere with his holy office. He therefore performed the necessary ablutions and purifications, and assumed his priestly robes. The trumpets sounded again, and he set forth towards the temple; and ere he had ascended the broad flight of steps that led to the outer court, the third and last summons pealed forth, and echoed from the hills around, to call the inhabitants and the throngs of priests and Levites to worship in that glorious house of God. The cheerfulness and peace which usually marked the weekly festival of the Jewish sabbath, had been interrupted and clouded that day by the news from Jotapata; and the crowds of rich and poor, old and young, master and slave, who had met without the gates to enjoy the day of rest, and indulge, according to their custom, in social intercourse, had hurried into the city to listen to the gloomy tidings. The dismay and sorrow that had stricken so many families prevented the temple service from being so numerously attended as usual, and delayed the arrival of the congregation; so that Zadok entered the outer court (or court of the Gentiles), and found the spacious area nearly deserted. His spirit was sad, and he walked slowly through the pillared cloisters that surrounded the court, and led to the stately dwellings of the priests and ministering officers of the temple. Beneath the alabaster porticoes and colonnades were the seats where the elders and sages passed much of their time in instructing the people, but they were now unoccupied. He passed on to the inner or holy temple, and looked with melancholy pride and admiration on the marble walls, the gold and silver gates, the ornaments of clustering grapes, and pomegranates of glittering gold and brass, the cedar roofs, and splendid hangings of purple and scarlet, and the altars of rich incense that filled the air with the most exquisite perfumes, and his naturally sanguine spirit was depressed. Even he felt that the power of the Romans was becoming irresistible, and that ere long, flushed with their Galilean victories, they would appear before the walls of Jerusalem. With their divided and ill-governed troops, how could the Jews hope to resist their countless and well-disciplined forces? and should they once more gain access into the holy and beloved city, urged on by revenge and fury, where would their ravages cease? and what would be the fate of the sacred building in which he stood? Its beauty and its sanctity might fail to preserve it from the destroying hands of the idolaters, though every son of Israel were to shed his blood in its defence.
Zadok strove to shake off these dismal forebodings, so unusual to his heroic and exalted character; for, relying on the arm of Jehovah, and believing the Jews to be his only and peculiar people, he seldom admitted a thought that any serious calamity would be permitted to fall on them. He approached the altar of sacrifice, now surrounded by the gathering crowd, and took from the hands of the attending Levites the appointed victims, two being always prepared for the sabbath offering. He slew them, and presented them before the Lord with all the accustomed forms; and while the smoke of the altar ascended in a cloud of the richest incense, he looked forward in faith to that Messiah, of whom he knew these sacrifices were but the type, and whom he believed in his blindness had not yet appeared on the earth to take away sin, and redeem his people. But though Zadok was in error, yet his piety was sincere and fervent, and his soul was comforted by the sacred service and the holy worship; so that he returned to his house with a more cheerful countenance.
But sorrow and dismay had taken possession of the city, and for thirty days the voice of wailing was heard in Jerusalem. Almost every family was called to mourn some private calamity, in the loss of their friends and relations who had fallen at Jotapata; while all united in deploring the death of Josephus as a heavy national affliction; and musicians were hired to perform funeral chants to his memory. The chiefs and elders met in frequent council, to devise what measures should be adopted for checking the further progress of the Romans: but their assemblies were generally broken up in wrath and violence, for among the contending parties who exercised power and tyranny in the unhappy city, none could be found to unite cordially for the general good; and nothing effectual was determined on. Zadok attended several of these councils, and endeavoured by his manly good sense and acute judgment, to lead the conflicting chiefs to lay aside their private quarrels, and join heart and hand for the common defence of their country; but his voice was unheeded, and jealousy and passion reigned supreme. So violent were some of the parties on one occasion, that at length he departed from the scene of tumult, and hastened to his home, where yet he could enjoy domestic peace and tranquillity.
Naomi met him as he entered the vestibule, and he was astonished at seeing her lovely face radiant with smiles of joy. She knelt before him with the graceful veneration which was always expected from the children of the ancient Israelites towards their parents when demanding their blessing, on their return from the temple, or on any other solemn occasion; and her father fondly laid his hands on her glossy and raven hair, and pronounced the customary benediction, "God make thee as Sarah, and Rebecca, and Rachel, and Leah;" thus using the words of the patriarch Jacob, but substituting the names of those favoured women of Ephraim and Manasseh, as the blessing was addressed to a female. Naomi then sprang up, and threw herself into the arms of her father, exclaiming, "Javan is alive! my brother is safe! Oh let us praise the Lord for his goodness!"
She was quickly followed by Salome, who with tears of joy and gratitude presented to Zadok a letter from their friend Rufus, and informed him that a special messenger had arrived with the letter immediately after his departure for the temple. It was accompanied by one to Claudia, which had declared its contents, and given them the happy intelligence of Javan's preservation and safety; but they had waited impatiently for Zadok's return, to satisfy their curiosity as to all the particulars of his fate. Their joy was greatly clouded when they found that he was a prisoner in the Roman camp, though Rufus assured them that he was kindly treated, and that there was a hope of his being released if the Jews submitted, and any exchange of prisoners took place. But Zadok knew that of such an event there was not the slightest probability, as the Jews were resolved to resist the Roman power to the very uttermost; and his own national pride and desire for the independence of his people were so great, that even to procure the freedom of his son, he could not bring himself to hope for their submission. He did not however communicate these reflections to his wife and daughter; and he joined with them in their joy and gratitude that Javan's life was spared.
Rufus had hoped that his messenger would have reached Jerusalem before the sad tidings of the fall of Jotapata were known there, and that thus his friends would be spared the shock of believing that their son had fallen in the general massacre; but it had required some trouble and ingenuity to convey his letters into the hands of a trustworthy Jew, who would undertake to deliver them to Zadok, as of course none of his own Roman troops could go on such an errand; and ere all this could be arranged, the intelligence had flown to the capital. The packet contained also a letter from Marcellus to Claudia, which had been sent from Rome by a friend of his, who was ordered to join the camp with a reinforcement of troops, and Rufus had now forwarded it to his daughter. As we have heard but little of the proceedings of the young Roman, we will here give the substance of his letter:—
"It is a long time, my dearest Claudia, since I have found means of writing to you; and I now gladly avail myself of the departure of a body of soldiers to Galilee, one of whom is a valued friend of mine, and will safely convey my letter. When last I heard from you, you mentioned the probability of your going to our old friends at Jerusalem; and I rejoiced to think that you would again enjoy their society, and be in peace and safety under their happy roof. How few of their nation are so free from prejudice and superstition as to admit a Roman maiden into their house as a member of the family! Javan alone will make your residence there in any way irksome, for if he is not greatly changed, he will almost scorn to eat at the same table with a Gentile. But our dear Naomi and the kind gentle Salome will be to you is a sister and a mother, now that you are bereft of your own beloved parent; and Zadok is too generous and too high-minded to suffer you to be slighted while under his protection. Oh that I were with you, my sister! All the magnificence and gaiety of Rome do not compensate me for being so far removed from all whom I have loved from childhood; and I often think with regret of the happy hours I have passed with you and Naomi among the groves and gardens of Judea. I rejoice to say that my time of probation is almost over, and I shall soon be enrolled among the soldiers of Rome, and sent to join one of the legions now on duty abroad. Our uncle Sulpitius has much interest with the emperor, and he promises to get me appointed to the tenth legion, which is commanded by the noble Titus, and is now in Galilee, forming part of the great army with which Vespasian hopes ere long to quell the Jewish rebellion. I shall then be with my father, and also shall hope to see you, and possibly Naomi also, for the war cannot last much longer. The Jews must soon submit to the overwhelming power of Rome; and I trust they will do so before much more blood is shed, and before Vespasian leads his troops against Jerusalem itself, which is said here to be his intention. What would be my feelings, if as a Roman soldier I was forced to assist in the capture of the place where our dear Naomi and all her family dwell, and to fight against her father, and her brother! You, my sister, would of course be removed to some safe refuge; but I know that Zadok would remain to counsel and aid his countrymen; and Naomi's devoted spirit would never allow her to seek safety in any other spot, while her father, her mother, and her beloved city, were exposed to danger. Oh! that her valiant and patriotic people may yet be wise in time, and by a prudent submission avert the fearful calamities which may otherwise overtake them! Their further resistance will only exasperate the emperor and his generals yet more and more, and bring a heavier ruin on their heads. My heart is in Jerusalem; and while I glory in being a Roman, I feel that Jerusalem is still my home, and the place where I would wish to dwell. This is a glorious and magnificent city, even surpassing all my expectations. You, I think, must have quite forgotten the city where you were born, for even I had but a faint recollection of some of the chief streets; and everything seemed strange to me when I returned, except my uncle's house and his extensive garden, where we used to play in our childhood with our cousin Camillus. Whenever I enter this lonely spot I feel at home again; and such recollections rush to my mind of my dear mother, that I can hardly believe she is departed, and that I shall see her no more. May her spirit be blessed wherever it now dwells!
"You know that the house in which we lived in Rome has been destroyed, and a noble temple dedicated to Mercury new occupies the place where it stood. Doubtless you will suppose that thither I often bend my steps and pay my vows; but, Claudia, it is not so. I live in the capital of the gods of Rome; and wherever I turn I behold splendid fanes, and rich altars, and exquisite sculptures set up in honour of these countless deities; but I have ceased to bow my knee to any of them. Yet do not suppose, that like so many of my young countrymen, in discovering the fallacy and absurdity of the system in which I had been educated, I have cast off all belief, and become an infidel. No, I have learnt to worship the one true God of heaven and earth; and tell your friend Naomi that henceforth she must not think of Marcellus as a blind idolater, who bows down to images of wood and stone, but a sincere worshipper of Jehovah. And yet I do not declare myself a Jew, for many of the Jewish rites and ceremonies still seem to me but folly; and I have been instructed in many things that I would wish to communicate to you, but I dare not until we meet. Oh, Claudia, let a brother's entreaties and a brother's example induce you to embrace a better faith than that which now you hold. Listen to the words of Naomi, and she will tell you of the power, and wisdom, and love of our great Creator, who is far above all gods; and may He enlighten your mind to see in Him the true Deity, and lead you to despise those gods that are the work of men's hands, and have no power to do either good or evil.
"Through His mercy I became acquainted with an aged man, learned in the Scriptures and full of piety and holiness. His arguments have convinced me of the folly of idolatry, and the happiness of putting all our trust in the Almighty Jehovah. I beseech you to read those holy Scriptures with care and diligence, and by the blessing of God you will learn the truth; and then when I see you, my sister, I will impart to you what further knowledge I have received from my venerable friend. He has many scholars here, but he is hated and despised by the Romans, as the doctrines that he teaches, and the mode of life that he inculcates and follows, are in direct opposition to the absurd faith and luxurious lives of the people of this great but wicked city. Nero especially holds in abhorrence both the Jews and those who attend the teaching of my instructor. All his time is devoted to amusement or to cruelty; and on the Nazarenes, who are numerous in Rome, he wreaks his vengeance with an unsparing hand, whenever they are discovered and dragged before him. You will shudder when I tell you of the dreadful treatment which some of these unhappy people have met with lately.
"A party of them were discovered and accused before the emperor of being followers of Jesus of Nazareth; and they boldly avowed the charge, and declared their resolution to endure all things that could be inflicted on them, but never to deny the name of Jesus. The indignation of Nero was excited at their undaunted reply, and he determined to employ the severest cruelty, in order to force them to submit to his commands, and to bow down to an idol. But nothing could shake their firmness, and they were given over to death in its most hideous forms. Some of them were enclosed in the skins of beasts, and turned into the Circus, and torn to pieces by dogs. Others were crucified; and to increase their torments, they were insulted and mocked in their dying agonies. And worse than all, when the public games were performed in the emperor's own gardens, and the populace were admitted to see them, some of these miserable Christians were covered with wax and other combustibles, and fixed in different parts of the gardens, with a sharp stake placed under their chin to keep them upright, and in that situation they were set on fire, and burnt alive to serve as flambeaux to light the spectators! My blood boils while I describe these enormities, which doubtless will call down a judgment on those who perpetrated them, and on this guilty city; though many of the inhabitants were filled with pity and indignation at the eight of such sufferings, and would have endeavoured to obtain the pardon of the Nazarenes, had not the character of Nero and his violent and bloody temper deterred them from the attempt. Think not that I witnessed these executions. Camillus would have dragged me to the gardens, but I left him, and fled from the city in horror and disgust. I grieve to say that he witnessed and enjoyed the revolting spectacle; though his natural refinement of disposition would, I should have imagined, have deterred him, even if no feelings of humanity existed in his heart. Unhappily he is devoted to the worst species of philosophy; and disregards all religion and all care for the good of mankind, making his own individual enjoyment the sole object of his existence. He believes that when he dies his spirit will be totally annihilated, and that therefore it is the highest wisdom to seize on every enjoyment now within his grasp, and think not of the future. He passes much of his time in the schools of the Epicurean philosophers, whose doctrines he finds agreeable, and many of whom are certainly men of great abilities, and capable of giving useful instruction on every subject unconnected with religion. On my first arrival in Rome, I frequented their schools with Camillus, and the charm of their eloquence almost beguiled me into adopting their opinions; but, happily for me, my acquaintance with the old teacher whom I have mentioned already, occurred in time to save me from such pernicious doctrines.
"I also accompanied our cousin to the amphitheatres and other public exhibitions; but they soon wearied me, and the barbarity of the combats of the gladiators, and the cruel struggles of condemned criminals with wild beasts, shocked and disgusted me; and notwithstanding the ridicule of Camillus and his equally thoughtless companions, I have ceased to attend these spectacles. Indeed I usually seize the opportunity of my uncle and cousin being thus engaged, for repairing to the humble dwelling of my beloved teacher, where I listen to his words of truth and piety with untiring and increasing attention.
"In this luxurious city, the house of Sulpitius is remarkable for its simplicity and absence of all ornament. He prides himself on preserving the same frugality and modesty in his dwelling and establishment that so peculiarly distinguished the ancient Romans in the days of the Republic. He extends this simplicity to every part of his domestic life, and it is only when he takes his place as a senator that he assumes such robes as are suitable to his rank and wealth; on all other occasions his attire is plain, even to singularity, and forms a contrast to the splendid and expensive attire of Camillus, who is permitted to indulge all his tastes and fancies to the utmost, though so widely differing from those of his father. The increasing luxury and refinement of the Romans is a source of deep grief to Sulpitius: but he feels that it is in vain to attempt to check it, even in his own son; and with a few of his friends who still retain their virtue and simplicity of manners, he bewails the corruption of the times. The sumptuous golden palace of Nero excites his highest indignation, as an example of extravagance and lavish indulgence that will be pernicious to the whole nation. It is indeed a splendid edifice, and fitted up with gold and silver, and marble and precious stones, and Babylonian carpets, as if almost to vie with the temple at Jerusalem. But nothing has excited my admiration and wonder more than the aqueducts and the public roads, which I have seen in my excursions in the neighbourhood. The roads are carried in a direct line from the city, as a grand centre, to the towns around, and I hear that they extend through great part of the Roman dominions. All obstacles are made to give way; hills are levelled, and valleys filled up, and bold arches thrown over streams and rivers. The middle of the road is raised to a considerable height, with a mixture of sand and gravel united into a solid mass with a powerful and durable cement, and this terrace is then paved with large hewn stones, so well laid together that I imagine they must last as long as the world endures. There are houses established at every five or six miles' distance, which are constantly supplied with forty horses for the use of travellers, and on any urgent occasion the messengers of the emperor travel along these roads at a rate of a hundred miles a-day. All this is a fine effect of Roman power and civilization, and so is the extensive and lucrative commerce that is carried on with every country in the known world; but I blush for the corrupt tastes of my countrymen, when I see silk dresses purchased with an equal weight of gold, and immense sums of money squandered in the Asiatic merchants' shops, for pearls, and jewels, and aromatics, and hangings, and carpets from Tyre and Babylon, and the distant cities of Persia. The strongest mark of the decline of Roman manners is, I think, the ostentatious display which every citizen now makes of a multitude of household slaves. In one palace that I have visited with my uncle, no less than four hundred are to be found; and the wealth of a Roman is estimated by the number of slaves that he possesses. That is a melancholy species of wealth which consists in the persons of our fellow-creatures! Camillas says that they were born to serve the Romans; but I cannot believe that the great and merciful Creator designed one race of men to be subject to the cruelty and caprice of another, or that victory in war can entitle the conquerors to treat the vanquished like beasts of burden. A sad procession of captive Jews arrived here a few days ago, sent by Vespasian from one of the conquered cities of Galilee, and they were led to the public market and sold as slaves. Their manly and heroic countenances filled me with pity and with grief, and I was weak enough—as Camillus would have called it—to weep at the degradation of so many noble human beings; and particularly when I reflected that they were Naomi's fellow-countrymen, and that her own father and brother, yes, and even she herself, might one day be exposed to the same indignity and misery. Oh may the Lord avert so deep a calamity, and give the Jews a heart to see their danger and imprudence, and to retrace their steps, ere themselves and all most dear to them are plunged in ruin and in slavery! Farewell, my dear Claudia. Commend me with great affection and respect to Naomi, and greet her parents and her brother as my oldest friends. The blessing of heaven attend you all; and may God listen to the prayers that are daily offered up for you by your brother
"MARCELLUS."
This long letter from her beloved brother gave Claudia the greatest pleasure; and though she expressed much surprise at the entire change in his sentiments on religion, and the deep importance which he now seemed to attach to that subject, yet the change did not appear to give her any dissatisfaction, and from that time she listened with attention and complacency to all the arguments of Naomi, and even obeyed her brother's injunction to peruse the inspired writings of Moses and the prophets, of which her friend possessed a beautiful copy. The intelligence conveyed in the letter of Marcellus was to Naomi a source of unmixed joy and gratitude. That he who had so long possessed her esteem and affection should have forsaken the sin and folly of idolatry, and have learned to worship that one Supreme Being who was the object of her entire devotion, filled her with delight; and she felt that her attachment to him, against which she had so long struggled, was now no longer guilty. But a great change had taken place in her own opinions and feelings since her first interview with Mary on the Mount of Olives. All that she had heard from that aged disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ had sunk deep into her heart, and God had caused the word of truth spoken by his feeble servant to take root in the soul of the young Jewess. She could not banish the subject from her thoughts; and the natural energy and determination of her character led her to risk everything, in order to obtain information on a point which she felt to be one of eternal consequence.
She had therefore used all her influence with the kind-hearted, indulgent old Deborah; and had already induced her to accompany her more than once to the house of her Christian friend, and to leave her there to enjoy, for as long a time as it was safe to do so, the conversation that was at once so interesting and so delightful. Deborah was not informed that Mary was one of the detested sect of the Nazarenes, or even Naomi would have failed to persuade her to assist in these stolen interviews; but she knew that her religion differed from that of her young friend, and therefore she believed that she was of a different sect of Jews to that of which Zadok and his family were distinguished members, and that consequently Naomi's friendship for her would be disapproved of by her father; but she thought no great harm could come from these meetings, and promised that she would keep them secret.
Nothing would ever have induced the open-hearted affectionate Naomi to conceal any of her actions from her parents, but the certainty that, in this case, their knowledge of her object, and the change that was rapidly being effected in her sentiments, would only cause them profound grief and excite their severe displeasure, without in any way banishing from her mind the ardent desire and resolution to become acquainted with the doctrines of Christianity. She felt that her soul was at stake; and if all she heard from Mary was true, it was her duty even to forsake her father and mother, rather than deny and abandon that faith which was able to make her wise unto salvation. She could not conceal from herself that already she was almost persuaded to be a Christian; and the blessed hopes of life and immortality that were opened to her mind as the Gospel of Jesus Christ was gradually mads known to her, brought with them a satisfaction and joy such as she had never felt before, and such as she would not have resigned for any earthly consideration.
"Would Marcellus ever believe in the crucified Jesus of Nazareth?" was a thought that crossed her mind with force, while she rejoiced in the declaration which she had just heard in his letter to Claudia, of his being no longer an idolater;—"otherwise should we not be still divided by our faith, even as we have ever been?"—and her first act on finding herself alone, was to implore that the same grace that had already partially dispelled the blindness and unbelief of her own heart, might be granted to Marcellus, and lead him to a like faith. "When we meet," said she to herself, "I will repeat to him all that Mary has told me;—never will one word of her discourse pass from my memory;—or, if possible, I will lead him to her dwelling, and he shall hear the words of truth and wonder from her own lips. He has proved that his soul is open to conviction, by so quickly receiving the belief in one Almighty God; and doubtless he will as candidly and freely listen to the story of Jesus of Nazareth, and then surely he will see, and believe, and adore, as I feel myself constrained to do."
Had Naomi known all that Marcellus had not ventured to declare in his letter, how happy and how thankful would she have been!—for he had already advanced beyond herself in religious light and knowledge, and was a sincere, devoted, and enlightened Christian. The teacher to whom he owed his conversion was no other than Clement of Rome, the fellow-worker with St. Paul and, who, after having laboured in the church at Philippi, had removed to the capital, where in after times he succeeded to the bishopric, and lived until the third year of the reign of the Emperor Trajan.