Antiquities of the Jews — Book 16, Chapter 2

1. When Herod had despatched these affairs, and he understood that
Marcus Agrippa had sailed again out of Italy into Asia, he made haste to
him, and besought him to come to him into his kingdom, and to partake of
what he might justly expect from one that had been his guest, and was
his friend. This request he greatly pressed, and to it Agrippa agreed,
and came into Judea; whereupon Herod omitted nothing that might please
him. He entertained him in his new-built cities, and showed him the
edifices he had built, and provided all sorts of the best and most
costly dainties for him and his friends, and that at Sebaste and
Cæsarea, about that port that he had built, and at the fortresses which
he had erected at great expenses, Alexandrium, and Herodium, and
Hyrcania. He also conducted him to the city Jerusalem, where all the
people met him in their festival garments, and received him with
acclamations. Agrippa also offered a hecatomb of sacrifices to God; and
feasted the people, without omitting any of the greatest dainties that
could be gotten. He also took so much pleasure there, that he abode many
days with them, and would willingly have staid longer, but that the
season of the year made him make haste away; for as winter was coming
on, he thought it not safe to go to sea later, and yet he was of
necessity to return again to Ionia.

2. So Agrippa went away, when Herod had bestowed on him, and on the
principal of those that were with him, many presents; but king Herod,
when he had passed the winter in his own dominions, made haste to get to
him again in the spring, when he knew he designed to go to a campaign at
the Bosphorus. So when he had sailed by Rhodes and by Cos, he touched at
Lesbos, as thinking he should have overtaken Agrippa there; but he was
taken short here by a north wind, which hindered his ship from going to
the shore; so he continued many days at Chius, and there he kindly
treated a great many that came to him, and obliged them by giving them
royal gifts. And when he saw that the portico of the city was fallen
down, which as it was overthrown in the Mithridatic war, and was very
large and fine building, so was it not so easy to rebuild that as it was
the rest, yet did he furnish a sum not only large enough for that
purpose, but what was more than sufficient to finish the building; and
ordered them not to overlook that portico, but to rebuild it quickly,
that so the city might recover its proper ornaments. And when the high
winds were laid, he sailed to Mytilene, and thence to Byzantium; and
when he heard that Agrippa was sailed beyond the Cyanean rocks, he made
all the haste possible to overtake him, and came up with him about
Sinope, in Pontus. He was seen sailing by the ship-men most
unexpectedly, but appeared to their great joy; and many friendly
salutations there were between them, insomuch that Agrippa thought he
had received the greatest marks of the king's kindness and humanity
towards him possible, since the king had come so long a voyage, and at a
very proper season, for his assistance, and had left the government of
his own dominions, and thought it more worth his while to come to him.
Accordingly, Herod was all in all to Agrippa, in the management of the
war, and a great assistant in civil affairs, and in giving him counsel
as to particular matters. He was also a pleasant companion for him when
he relaxed himself, and a joint partaker with him in all things; ill
troubles because of his kindness, and in prosperity because of the
respect Agrippa had for him. Now as soon as those affairs of Pontus were
finished, for whose sake Agrippa was sent thither, they did not think
fit to return by sea, but passed through Paphlagonia and Cappadocia;
they then traveled thence over great Phrygia, and came to Ephesus, and
then they sailed from Ephesus to Samos. And indeed the king bestowed a
great many benefits on every city that he came to, according as they
stood in need of them; for as for those that wanted either money or kind
treatment, he was not wanting to them; but he supplied the former
himself out of his own expenses: he also became an intercessor with
Agrippa for all such as sought after his favor, and he brought things so
about, that the petitioners failed in none of their suits to him,
Agrippa being himself of a good disposition, and of great generosity,
and ready to grant all such requests as might be advantageous to the
petitioners, provided they were not to the detriment of others. The
inclination of the king was of great weight also, and still excited
Agrippa, who was himself ready to do good; for he made a reconciliation
between the people of Ilium, at whom he was angry, and paid what money
the people of Chius owed Cæsar's procurators, and discharged them of
their tributes; and helped all others, according as their several
necessities required.

3. But now, when Agrippa and Herod were in Ionia, a great multitude of
Jews, who dwelt in their cities, came to them, and laying hold of the
opportunity and the liberty now given them, laid before them the
injuries which they suffered, while they were not permitted to use their
own laws, but were compelled to prosecute their law-suits, by the ill
usage of the judges, upon their holy days, and were deprived of the
money they used to lay up at Jerusalem, and were forced into the army,
and upon such other offices as obliged them to spend their sacred money;
from which burdens they always used to be freed by the Romans, who had
still permitted them to live according to their own laws. When this
clamor was made, the king desired of Agrippa that he would hear their
cause, and assigned Nicolaus, one of his friends, to plead for those
their privileges. Accordingly, when Agrippa had called the principal of
the Romans, and such of the kings and rulers as were there, to be his
assessors, Nicolaus stood up, and pleaded for the Jews, as follows: "It
is of necessity incumbent on such as are in distress to have recourse to
those that have it in their power to free them from those injuries they
lie under; and for those that now are complainants, they approach you
with great assurance; for as they have formerly often obtained your
favor, so far as they have even wished to have it, they now only entreat
that you, who have been the donors, will take care that those favors you
have already granted them may not be taken away from them. We have
received these favors from you, who alone have power to grant them, but
have them taken from us by such as are no greater than ourselves, and by
such as we know are as much subjects as we are; and certainly, if we
have been vouchsafed great favors, it is to our commendation who have
obtained them, as having been found deserving of such great favors; and
if those favors be but small ones, it would be barbarous for the donors
not to confirm them to us. And for those that are the hinderance of the
Jews, and use them reproachfully, it is evident that they affront both
the receivers, while they will not allow those to be worthy men to whom
their excellent rulers themselves have borne their testimony, and the
donors, while they desire those favors already granted may be abrogated.
Now if any one should ask these Gentiles themselves, which of the two
things they would choose to part with, their lives, or the customs of
their forefathers, their solemnities, their sacrifices, their festivals,
which they celebrated in honor of those they suppose to be gods? I know
very well that they would choose to suffer any thing whatsoever rather
than a dissolution of any of the customs of their forefathers; for a
great many of them have rather chosen to go to war on that account, as
very solicitous not to transgress in those matters. And indeed we take
an estimate of that happiness which all mankind do now enjoy by your
means from this very thing, that we are allowed every one to worship as
our own institutions require, and yet to live [in peace]; and although
they would not be thus treated themselves, yet do they endeavor to
compel others to comply with them, as if it were not as great an
instance of impiety profanely to dissolve the religious solemnities of
any others, as to be negligent in the observation of their own towards
their gods. And let us now consider the one of these practices. Is there
any people, or city, or community of men, to whom your government and
the Roman power does not appear to be the greatest blessing? Is there
any one that can desire to make void the favors they have granted? No
one is certainly so mad; for there are no men but such as have been
partakers of their favors, both public and private; and indeed those
that take away what you have granted, can have no assurance but every
one of their own grants made them by you may be taken from them also;
which grants of yours can yet never be sufficiently valued; for if they
consider the old governments under kings, together with your present
government, besides the great number of benefits which this government
hath bestowed on them, in order to their happiness, this is instead of
all the rest, that they appear to be no longer in a state of slavery,
but of freedom. Now the privileges we desire, even when we are in the
best circumstances, are not such as deserve to be envied, for we are
indeed in a prosperous state by your means, but this is only in common
with others; and it is no more than this which we desire, to preserve
our religion without any prohibition; which as it appears not in itself
a privilege to be envied us, so it is for the advantage of those that
grant it to us; for if the Divinity delights in being honored, it must
delight in those that permit them to be honored. And there are none of
our customs which are inhuman, but all tending to piety, and devoted to
the preservation of justice; nor do we conceal those injunctions of ours
by which we govern our lives, they being memorials of piety, and of a
friendly conversation among men. And the seventh day we set apart from
labor; it is dedicated to the learning of our customs and laws, 1 we
thinking it proper to reflect on them, as well as on any [good] thing
else, in order to our avoiding of sin. If any one therefore examine into
our observances, he will find they are good in themselves, and that they
are ancient also, though some think otherwise, insomuch that those who
have received them cannot easily be brought to depart from them, out of
that honor they pay to the length of time they have religiously enjoyed
them and observed them. Now our adversaries take these our privileges
away in the way of injustice; they violently seize upon that money of
ours which is owed to God, and called sacred money, and this openly,
after a sacrilegious manner; and they impose tributes upon us, and bring
us before tribunals on holy days, and then require other like debts of
us, not because the contracts require it, and for their own advantage,
but because they would put an affront on our religion, of which they are
conscious as well as we, and have indulged themselves in an unjust, and
to them involuntary, hatred; for your government over all is one,
tending to the establishing of benevolence, and abolishing of ill-will
among such as are disposed to it. This is therefore what we implore from
thee, most excellent Agrippa, that we may not be ill-treated; that we
may not be abused; that we may not be hindered from making use of our
own customs, nor be despoiled of our goods, nor be forced by these men
to do what we ourselves force nobody to do; for these privileges of ours
are not only according to justice, but have formerly been granted us by
you. And we are able to read to you many decrees of the senate, and the
tables that contain them, which are still extant in the capitol,
concerning these things, which it is evident were granted after you had
experience of our fidelity towards you, which ought to be valued, though
no such fidelity had been; for you have hitherto preserved what people
were in possession of, not to us only, but almost to all men, and have
added greater advantages than they could have hoped for, and thereby
your government is become a great advantage to them. And if any one were
able to enumerate the prosperity you have conferred on every nation,
which they possess by your means, he could never put an end to his
discourse; but that we may demonstrate that we are not unworthy of all
those advantages we have obtained, it will be sufficient for us, to say
nothing of other things, but to speak freely of this king who now
governs us, and is now one of thy assessors; and indeed in what instance
of good-will, as to your house, hath he been deficient? What mark of
fidelity to it hath he omitted? What token of honor hath he not devised?
What occasion for his assistance of you hath he not regarded at the very
first? What hindereth; therefore, but that your kindnesses may be as
numerous as his so great benefits to you have been? It may also perhaps
be fit not here to pass over in silence the valor of his father
Antipater, who, when Cæsar made an expedition into Egypt, assisted him
with two thousand armed men, and proved inferior to none, neither in the
battles on land, nor in the management of the navy; and what need I say
any thing of how great weight those soldiers were at that juncture? or
how many and how great presents they were vouchsafed by Cæsar? And truly
I ought before now to have mentioned the epistles which Cæsar wrote to
the senate; and how Antipater had honors, and the freedom of the city of
Rome, bestowed upon him; for these are demonstrations both that we have
received these favors by our own deserts, and do on that account
petition thee for thy confirmation of them, from whom we had reason to
hope for them, though they had not been given us before, both out of
regard to our king's disposition towards you, and your disposition
towards him. And further, we have been informed by those Jews that were
there with what kindness thou camest into our country, and how thou
offeredst the most perfect sacrifices to God, and honoredst him with
remarkable vows, and how thou gavest the people a feast, and acceptedst
of their own hospitable presents to thee. We ought to esteem all these
kind entertainments made both by our nation and to our city, to a man
who is the ruler and manager of so much of the public affairs, as
indications of that friendship which thou hast returned to the Jewish
nation, and which hath been procured them by the family of Herod. So we
put thee in mind of these things in the presence of the king, now
sitting by thee, and make our request for no more but this, that what
you have given us yourselves you will not see taken away by others from
us."

4. When Nicolaus had made this speech, there was no opposition made to
it by the Greeks, for this was not an inquiry made, as in a court of
justice, but an intercession to prevent violence to be offered to the
Jews any longer; nor did the Greeks make any defense of themselves, or
deny what it was supposed they had done. Their pretense was no more than
this, that while the Jews inhabited in their country, they were entirely
unjust to them [in not joining in their worship] but they demonstrated
their generosity in this, that though they worshipped according to their
institutions, they did nothing that ought to grieve them. So when
Agrippa perceived that they had been oppressed by violence, he made this
answer: That, on account of Herod's good-will and friendship, he was
ready to grant the Jews whatsoever they should ask him, and that their
requests seemed to him in themselves just; and that if they requested
any thing further, he should not scruple to grant it them, provided they
were no way to the detriment of the Roman government; but that while
their request was no more than this, that what privileges they had
already given them might not be abrogated, he confirmed this to them,
that they might continue in the observation of their own customs,
without any one offering them the least injury. And when he had said
thus, he dissolved the assembly; upon which Herod stood up and saluted
him, and gave him thanks for the kind disposition he showed to them.
Agrippa also took this in a very obliging manner, and saluted him again,
and embraced him in his arms; after which he went away from Lesbos; but
the king determined to sail from Samos to his own country; and when he
had taken his leave of Agrippa, he pursued his voyage, and landed at
Cæsarea in a few days' time, as having favorable winds; from whence he
went to Jerusalem, and there gathered all the people together to an
assembly, not a few being there out of the country also. So he came to
them, and gave them a particular account of all his journey, and of the
affairs of all the Jews in Asia, how by his means they would live
without injurious treatment for the time to come. He also told them of
the entire good fortune he had met with and how he had administered the
government, and had not neglected any thing which was for their
advantage; and as he was very joyful, he now remitted to them the fourth
part of their taxes for the last year. Accordingly, they were so pleased
with his favor and speech to them, that they went their ways with great
gladness, and wished the king all manner of happiness.

CHAPTER 3

How Great Disturbances Arose In Herods Family On His Preferring
Antipater His Eldest Son Before The Rest, Till Alexander Took That
Injury Very Heinously.

1. But now the affairs in Herod's family were in more and more disorder,
and became more severe upon him, by the hatred of Salome to the young
men [Alexander and Aristobulus], which descended as it were by
inheritance [from their mother Mariamne]; and as she had fully succeeded
against their mother, so she proceeded to that degree of madness and
insolence, as to endeavor that none of her posterity might be left
alive, who might have it in their power to revenge her death. The young
men had also somewhat of a bold and uneasy disposition towards their
father occasioned by the remembrance of what their mother had unjustly
suffered, and by their own affectation of dominion. The old grudge was
also renewed; and they cast reproaches on Salome and Pheroras, who
requited the young men with malicious designs, and actually laid
treacherous snares for them. Now as for this hatred, it was equal on
both sides, but the manner of exerting that hatred was different; for as
for the young men, they were rash, reproaching and affronting the others
openly, and were inexperienced enough to think it the most generous to
declare their minds in that undaunted manner; but the others did not
take that method, but made use of calumnies after a subtle and a
spiteful manner, still provoking the young men, and imagining that their
boldness might in time turn to the offering violence to their father;
for inasmuch as they were not ashamed of the pretended crimes of their
mother, nor thought she suffered justly, these supposed that might at
length exceed all bounds, and induce them to think they ought to be
avenged on their father, though it were by despatching him with their
own hands. At length it came to this, that the whole city was full of
their discourses, and, as is usual in such contests, the unskilfulness
of the young men was pitied; but the contrivance of Salome was too hard
for them, and what imputations she laid upon them came to be believed,
by means of their own conduct; for they who were so deeply affected with
the death of their mother, that while they said both she and themselves
were in a miserable case, they vehemently complained of her pitiable
end, which indeed was truly such, and said that they were themselves in
a pitiable case also, because they were forced to live with those that
had been her murderers, and to be partakers with them.

2. These disorders increased greatly, and the king's absence abroad had
afforded a fit opportunity for that increase; but as soon as Herod was
returned, and had made the forementioned speech to the multitude,
Pheroras and Salome let fill words immediately as if he were in great
danger, and as if the young men openly threatened that they would not
spare him any longer, but revenge their mother's death upon him. They
also added another circumstance, that their hopes were fixed on
Archelaus, the king of Cappadocia, that they should be able by his means
to come to Cæsar, and accuse their father. Upon hearing such things,
Herod was immediately disturbed; and indeed was the more astonished,
because the same things were related to him by some others also. He then
called to mind his former calamity, and considered that the disorders in
his family had hindered him from enjoying any comfort from those that
were dearest to him or from his wife whom he loved so well; and
suspecting that his future troubles would soon be heavier and greater
than those that were past, he was in great confusion of mind; for Divine
Providence had in reality conferred upon him a great many outward
advantages for his happiness, even beyond his hopes; but the troubles he
had at home were such as he never expected to have met with, and
rendered him unfortunate; nay, both sorts came upon him to such a degree
as no one could imagine, and made it a doubtful question, whether, upon
the comparison of both, he ought to have exchanged so great a success of
outward good things for so great misfortunes at home, or whether he
ought not to have chosen to avoid the calamities relating to his family,
though he had, for a compensation, never been possessed of the admired
grandeur of a kingdom.

3. As he was thus disturbed and afflicted, in order to depress these
young men, he brought to court another of his sons, that was born to him
when he was a private man; his name was Antipater; yet did he not then
indulge him as he did afterwards, when he was quite overcome by him, and
let him do every thing as he pleased, but rather with a design of
depressing the insolence of the sons of Mariamne, and managing this
elevation of his so, that it might be for a warning to them; for this
bold behavior of theirs [he thought] would not be so great, if they were
once persuaded that the succession to the kingdom did not appertain to
them alone, or must of necessity come to them. So he introduced
Antipater as their antagonist, and imagined that he made a good
provision for discouraging their pride, and that after this was done to
the young men, there might be a proper season for expecting these to be
of a better disposition; but the event proved otherwise than he
intended, for the young men thought he did them a very great injury; and
as Antipater was a shrewd man, when he had once obtained this degree of
freedom, and began to expect greater things than he had before hoped
for, he had but one single design in his head, and that was to distress
his brethren, and not at all to yield to them the pre-eminence, but to
keep close to his father, who was already alienated from them by the
calumnies he had heard about them, and ready to be wrought upon in any
way his zeal against them should advise him to pursue, that he might be
continually more and more severe against them. Accordingly, all the
reports that were spread abroad came from him, while he avoided himself
the suspicion as if those discoveries proceeded from him; but he rather
chose to make use of those persons for his assistants that were
unsuspected, and such as might be believed to speak truth by reason of
the good-will they bore to the king; and indeed there were already not a
few who cultivated a friendship with Antipater, in hopes of gaining
somewhat by him, and these were the men who most of all persuaded Herod,
because they appeared to speak thus out of their good-will to him: and
with these joint accusations, which from various foundations supported
one another's veracity, the young men themselves afforded further
occasions to Antipater also; for they were observed to shed tears often,
on account of the injury that was offered them, and had their mother in
their mouths; and among their friends they ventured to reproach their
father, as not acting justly by them; all which things were with an evil
intention reserved in memory by Antipater against a proper opportunity;
and when they were told to Herod, with aggravations, increased the
disorder so much, that it brought a great tumult into the family; for
while the king was very angry at imputations that were laid upon the
sons of Mariamne, and was desirous to humble them, he still increased
the honor that he had bestowed on Antipater, and was at last so overcome
by his persuasions, that he brought his mother to court also. He also
wrote frequently to Cæsar in favor of him, and more earnestly
recommended him to his care particularly. And when Agrippa was returning
to Rome, after he had finished his ten years' government in Asia. 2
Herod sailed from Judea; and when he met with him, he had none with him
but Antipater, whom he delivered to Agrippa, that he might take him
along with him, together with many presents, that so he might become
Cæsar's friend, insomuch that things already looked as if he had all his
father's favor, and that the young men were already entirely rejected
from any hopes of the kingdom.