Antiquities of the Jews — Book 17, Chapter 5

1. Now Herod, upon Antipater's writing to him, that having done all that
he was to do, and this in the manner he was to do it, he would suddenly
come to him, concealed his anger against him, and wrote back to him, and
bid him not delay his journey, lest any harm should befall himself in
his absence. At the same time also he made some little complaint about
his mother, but promised that he would lay those complaints aside when
he should return. He withal expressed his entire affection for him, as
fearing lest he should have some suspicion of him, and defer his journey
to him; and lest, while he lived at Rome, he should lay plots for the
kingdom, and, moreover, do somewhat against himself. This letter
Antipater met with in Cilicia; but had received an account of Pheroras's
death before at Tarentum. This last news affected him deeply; not out of
any affection for Pheroras, but because he was dead without having
murdered his father, which he had promised him to do. And when he was at
Celenderis in Cilicia, he began to deliberate with himself about his
sailing home, as being much grieved with the ejection of his mother. Now
some of his friends advised him that he should tarry a while some where,
in expectation of further information. But others advised him to sail
home without delay; for that if he were once come thither, he would soon
put an end to all accusations, and that nothing afforded any weight to
his accusers at present but his absence. He was persuaded by these last,
and sailed on, and landed at the haven called Sebastus, which Herod had
built at vast expenses in honor of Cæsar, and called Sebastus. And now
was Antipater evidently in a miserable condition, while nobody came to
him nor saluted him, as they did at his going away, with good wishes of
joyful acclamations; nor was there now any thing to hinder them from
entertaining him, on the contrary, with bitter curses, while they
supposed he was come to receive his punishment for the murder of his
brethren.

2. Now Quintilius Varus was at this time at Jerusalem, being sent to
succeed Saturninus as president of Syria, and was come as an assessor to
Herod, who had desired his advice in his present affairs; and as they
were sitting together, Antipater came upon them, without knowing any
thing of the matter; so he came into the palace clothed in purple. The
porters indeed received him in, but excluded his friends. And now he was
in great disorder, and presently understood the condition he was in,
while, upon his going to salute his father, he was repulsed by him, who
called him a murderer of his brethren, and a plotter of destruction
against himself, and told him that Varus should be his auditor and his
judge the very next day; so he found that what misfortunes he now heard
of were already upon him, with the greatness of which he went away in
confusion; upon which his mother and his wife met him, [which wife was
the daughter of Antigonus, who was king of the Jews before Herod,] from
whom he learned all circumstances which concerned him, and then prepared
himself for his trial.

3. On the next day Varus and the king sat together in judgment, and both
their friends were also called in, as also the king's relations, with
his sister Salome, and as many as could discover any thing, and such as
had been tortured; and besides these, some slaves of Antipater's mother,
who were taken up a little before Antipater's coming, and brought with
them a written letter, the sum of which was this: That he should not
come back, because all was come to his father's knowledge; and that
Cæsar was the only refuge he had left to prevent both his and her
delivery into his father's hands. Then did Antipater fall down at his
father's feet, and besought him not to prejudge his cause, but that he
might be first heard by his father, and that his father would keep
himself unprejudiced. So Herod ordered him to be brought into the midst,
and then lamented himself about his children, from whom he had suffered
such great misfortunes; and because Antipater fell upon him in his old
age. He also reckoned up what maintenance and what education he had
given them; and what seasonable supplies of wealth he had afforded them,
according to their own desires; none of which favors had hindered them
from contriving against him, and from bringing his very life into
danger, in order to gain his kingdom, after an impious manner, by taking
away his life before the course of nature, their father's wishes, or
justice required that that kingdom should come to them; and that he
wondered what hopes could elevate Antipater to such a pass as to be
hardy enough to attempt such things; that he had by his testament in
writing declared him his successor in the government; and while he was
alive, he was in no respect inferior to him, either in his illustrious
dignity, or in power and authority, he having no less than fifty talents
for his yearly income, and had received for his journey to Rome no fewer
than thirty talents. He also objected to him the case of his brethren
whom he had accused; and if they were guilty, he had imitated their
example; and if not, he had brought him groundless accusations against
his near relations; for that he had been acquainted with all those
things by him, and by nobody else, and had done what was done by his
approbation, and whom he now absolved from all that was criminal, by
becoming the inheritor of the guilt of such their parricide.

4. When Herod had thus spoken, he fell a weeping, and was not able to
say any more; but at his desire Nicolaus of Damascus, being the king's
friend, and always conversant with him, and acquainted with whatsoever
he did, and with the circumstances of his affairs, proceeded to what
remained, and explained all that concerned the demonstrations and
evidences of the facts. Upon which Antipater, in order to make his legal
defense, turned himself to his father, and enlarged upon the many
indications he had given of his good-will to him; and instanced in the
honors that had been done him, which yet had not been done, had he not
deserved them by his virtuous concern about him; for that he had made
provision for every thing that was fit to be foreseen beforehand, as to
giving him his wisest advice; and whenever there was occasion for the
labor of his own hands, he had not grudged any such pains for him. And
that it was almost impossible that he, who had delivered his father from
so many treacherous contrivances laid against him, should be himself in
a plot against him, and so lose all the reputation he had gained for his
virtue, by his wickedness which succeeded it; and this while he had
nothing to prohibit him, who was already appointed his successor, to
enjoy the royal honor with his father also at present; and that there
was no likelihood that a person who had the one half of that authority
without any danger, and with a good character, should hunt after the
whole with infamy and danger, and this when it was doubtful whether he
could obtain it or not; and when he saw the sad example of his brethren
before him, and was both the informer and the accuser against them, at a
time when they might not otherwise have been discovered; nay, was the
author of the punishment inflicted upon them, when it appeared evidently
that they were guilty of a wicked attempt against their father; and that
even the contentions there were in the king's family were indications
that he had ever managed affairs out of the sincerest affection to his
father. And as to what he had done at Rome, Cæsar was a witness thereto,
who yet was no more to be imposed upon than God himself; of whose
opinions his letters sent hither are sufficient evidence; and that it
was not reasonable to prefer the calumnies of such as proposed to raise
disturbances before those letters; the greatest part of which calumnies
had been raised during his absence, which gave scope to his enemies to
forge them, which they had not been able to do if he had been there.
Moreover he showed the weakness of the evidence obtained by torture,
which was commonly false, because the distress men are in under such
tortures naturally obliges them to say many things in order to please
those that govern them. He also offered himself to the torture.

5. Hereupon there was a change observed in the assembly, while they
greatly pitied Antipater, who by weeping and putting on a countenance
suitable to his sad case made them commiserate the same, insomuch that
his very enemies were moved to compassion; and it appeared plainly that
Herod himself was affected in his own mind, although he was not willing
it should be taken notice of. Then did Nicolaus begin to prosecute what
the king had begun, and that with great bitterness; and summed up all
the evidence which arose from the tortures, or from the testimonies. He
principally and largely cried up the king's virtues, which he had
exhibited in the maintenance and education of his sons; while he never
could gain any advantage thereby, but still fell from one misfortune to
another. Although he owned that he was not so much surprised with that
thoughtless behavior of his former sons, who were but young, and were
besides corrupted by wicked counselors, who were the occasion of their
wiping out of their minds the righteous dictates of nature, and this out
of a desire of coming to the government sooner than they ought to do;
yet that he could not but justly stand amazed at the horrid wickedness
of Antipater, who, although he had not only had great benefits bestowed
on him by his father, enough to tame his reason, yet could not be more
tamed than the most envenomed serpents; whereas even those creatures
admit of some mitigation, and will not bite their benefactors, while
Antipater hath not let the misfortunes of his brethren be any hinderance
to him, but he hath gone on to imitate their barbarity notwithstanding.
"Yet wast thou, O Antipater! [as thou hast thyself confessed,] the
informer as to what wicked actions they had done, and the searcher out
of the evidence against them, and the author of the punishment they
underwent upon their detection. Nor do we say this as accusing thee for
being so zealous in thy anger against them, but are astonished at thy
endeavors to imitate their profligate behavior; and we discover thereby
that thou didst not act thus for the safety of thy father, but for the
destruction of thy brethren, that by such outside hatred of their
impiety thou mightest be believed a lover of thy father, and mightest
thereby get thee power enough to do mischief with the greatest impunity;
which design thy actions indeed demonstrate. It is true, thou tookest
thy brethren off, because thou didst convict theft of their wicked
designs; but thou didst not yield up to justice those who were their
partners; and thereby didst make it evident to all men that thou madest
a covenant with them against thy father, when thou chosest to be the
accuser of thy brethren, as desirous to gain to thyself alone this
advantage of laying plots to kill thy father, and so to enjoy double
pleasure, which is truly worthy of thy evil disposition, which thou has
openly showed against thy brethren; on which account thou didst rejoice,
as having done a most famous exploit, nor was that behavior unworthy of
thee. But if thy intention were otherwise, thou art worse than they:
while thou didst contrive to hide thy treachery against thy father, thou
didst hate them, not as plotters against thy father, for in that case
thou hadst not thyself fallen upon the like crime, but as successors of
his dominions, and more worthy of that succession than thyself. Thou
wouldst kill thy father after thy brethren, lest thy lies raised against
them might be detected; and lest thou shouldst suffer what punishment
thou hadst deserved, thou hadst a mind to exact that punishment of thy
unhappy father, and didst devise such a sort of uncommon parricide as
the world never yet saw. For thou who art his son didst not only lay a
treacherous design against thy father, and didst it while he loved thee,
and had been thy benefactor, had made thee in reality his partner in the
kingdom, and had openly declared thee his successor, while thou wast not
forbidden to taste the sweetness of authority already, and hadst the
firm hope of what was future by thy father's determination, and the
security of a written testament; but, for certain, thou didst not
measure these things according to thy father's various disposition, but
according to thy own thoughts and inclinations; and was desirous to take
the part that remained away from thy too indulgent father, and soughtest
to destroy him with thy deeds, whom thou in words pretendedst to
preserve. Nor wast thou content to be wicked thyself, but thou filledst
thy mother's head with thy devices, and raised disturbances among thy
brethren, and hadst the boldness to call thy father a wild beast; while
thou hadst thyself a mind more cruel than any serpent, whence thou
sentest out that poison among thy nearest kindred and greatest
benefactors, and invitedst them to assist thee and guard thee, and didst
hedge thyself in on all sides, by the artifices of both men and women,
against an old man, as though that mind of thine was not sufficient of
itself to support so great a hatred as thou baredst to him. And here
thou appearest, after the tortures of free-men, of domestics, of men and
women, which have been examined on thy account, and after the
informations of thy fellow conspirators, as making haste to contradict
the truth; and hast thought on ways not only how to take thy father out
of the world, but to disannul that written law which is against thee,
and the virtue of Varus, and the nature of justice; nay, such is that
impudence of thine on which thou confidest, that thou desirest to be put
to the torture thyself, while thou allegest that the tortures of those
already examined thereby have made them tell lies; that those that have
been the deliverers of thy father may not be allowed to have spoken the
truth; but that thy tortures may be esteemed the discoverers of truth.
Wilt not thou, O Varus! deliver the king from the injuries of his
kindred? Wilt not thou destroy this wicked wild beast, which hath
pretended kindness to his father, in order to destroy his brethren;
while yet he is himself alone ready to carry off the kingdom
immediately, and appears to be the most bloody butcher to him of them
all? for thou art sensible that parricide is a general injury both to
nature and to common life, and that the intention of parricide is not
inferior to its perpetration; and he who does not punish it is injurious
to nature itself."

6. Nicolaus added further what belonged to Antipater's mother, and
whatsoever she had prattled like a woman; as also about the predictions
and the sacrifices relating to the king; and whatsoever Antipater had
done lasciviously in his cups and his amours among Pheroras's women; the
examination upon torture; and whatsoever concerned the testimonies of
the witnesses, which were many, and of various kinds; some prepared
beforehand, and others were sudden answers, which further declared and
confirmed the foregoing evidence. For those men who were not acquainted
with Antipater's practices, but had concealed them out of fear, when
they saw that he was exposed to the accusations of the former witnesses,
and that his great good fortune, which had supported him hitherto, had
now evidently betrayed him into the hands of his enemies, who were now
insatiable in their hatred to him, told all they knew of him. And his
ruin was now hastened, not so much by the enmity of those that were his
accusers, as by his gross, and impudent, and wicked contrivances, and by
his ill-will to his father and his brethren; while he had filled their
house with disturbance, and caused them to murder one another; and was
neither fair in his hatred, nor kind in his friendship, but just so far
as served his own turn. Now there were a great number who for a long
time beforehand had seen all this, and especially such as were naturally
disposed to judge of matters by the rules of virtue, because they were
used to determine about affairs without passion, but had been restrained
from making any open complaints before; these, upon the leave now given
them, produced all that they knew before the public. The demonstrations
also of these wicked facts could no way be disproved, because the many
witnesses there were did neither speak out of favor to Herod, nor were
they obliged to keep what they had to say silent, out of suspicion of
any danger they were in; but they spake what they knew, because they
thought such actions very wicked, and that Antipater deserved the
greatest punishment; and indeed not so much for Herod's safety, as on
account of the man's own wickedness. Many things were also said, and
those by a great number of persons, who were no way obliged to say them,
insomuch that Antipater, who used generally to be very shrewd in his
lies and impudence, was not able to say one word to the contrary. When
Nicolaus had left off speaking, and had produced the evidence, Varus bid
Antipater to betake himself to the making his defense, if he had
prepared any thing whereby it might appear that he was not guilty of the
crimes he was accused of; for that, as he was himself desirous, so did
he know that his father was in like manner desirous also, to have him
found entirely innocent. But Antipater fell down on his face, and
appealed to God and to all men for testimonials of his innocency,
desiring that God would declare, by some evident signals, that he had
not laid any plot against his father. This being the usual method of all
men destitute of virtue, that when they set about any wicked
undertakings, they fall to work according to their own inclinations, as
if they believed that God was unconcerned in human affairs; but when
once they are found out, and are in danger of undergoing the punishment
due to their crimes, they endeavor to overthrow all the evidence against
them by appealing to God; which was the very thing which Antipater now
did; for whereas he had done everything as if there were no God in the
world, when he was on all sides distressed by justice, and when he had
no other advantage to expect from any legal proofs, by which he might
disprove the accusations laid against him, he impudently abused the
majesty of God, and ascribed it to his power that he had been preserved
hitherto; and produced before them all what difficulties he had ever
undergone in his bold acting for his father's preservation.

7. So when Varus, upon asking Antipater what he had to say for himself,
found that he had nothing to say besides his appeal to God, and saw that
there was no end of that, he bid them bring the potion before the court,
that he might see what virtue still remained in it; and when it was
brought, and one that was condemned to die had drank it by Varus's
command, he died presently. Then Varus got up, and departed out of the
court, and went away the day following to Antioch, where his usual
residence was, because that was the palace of the Syrians; upon which
Herod laid his son in bonds. But what were Varus's discourses to Herod
was not known to the generality, and upon what words it was that he went
away; though it was also generally supposed that whatsoever Herod did
afterward about his son was done with his approbation. But when Herod
had bound his son, he sent letters to Rome to Cæsar about him, and such
messengers withal as should, by word of mouth, inform Cæsar of
Antipater's wickedness. Now at this very time there was seized a letter
of Antiphilus, written to Antipater out of Egypt [for he lived there];
and when it was opened by the king, it was found to contain what
follows: "I have sent thee Acme's letter, and hazarded my own life; for
thou knowest that I am in danger from two families, if I be discovered.
I wish thee good success in thy affair." These were the contents of this
letter; but the king made inquiry about the other letter also, for it
did not appear; and Antiphilus's slave, who brought that letter which
had been read, denied that he had received the other. But while the king
was in doubt about it, one of Herod's friends seeing a seam upon the
inner coat of the slave, and a doubling of the cloth, [for he had two
coats on,] he guessed that the letter might be within that doubling;
which accordingly proved to be true. So they took out the letter, and
its contents were these: "Acme to Antipater. I have written such a
letter to thy father as thou desiredst me. I have also taken a copy and
sent it, as if it came from Salome, to my lady [Livia]; which, when thou
readest, I know that Herod Will punish Salome, as plotting against him?'
Now this pretended letter of Salome to her lady was composed by
Antipater, in the name of Salome, as to its meaning, but in the words of
Acme. The letter was this: 'Acme to king Herod. I have done my endeavor
that nothing that is done against thee should be concealed from thee.
So, upon my finding a letter of Salome written to my lady against thee,
I have written out a copy, and sent it to thee; with hazard to myself,
but for thy advantage.' The reason why she wrote it was this, that she
had a mind to be married to Sylleus. Do thou therefore tear this letter
in pieces, that I may not come into danger of my life." Now Acme had
written to Antipater himself, and informed him, that, in compliance with
his command, she had both herself written to Herod, as if Salome had
laid a sudden plot entirely against him, and had herself sent a copy of
an epistle, as coming from Salome to her lady. Now Acme was a Jew by
birth, and a servant to Julia, Cæsar's wife; and did this out of her
friendship for Antipater, as having been corrupted by him with a large
present of money, to assist in his pernicious designs against his father
and his aunt.

8. Hereupon Herod was so amazed at the prodigious wickedness of
Antipater, that he was ready to have ordered him to be slain
immediately, as a turbulent person in the most important concerns, and
as one that had laid a plot not only against himself, but against his
sister also, and even corrupted Cæsar's own domestics. Salome also
provoked him to it, beating her breast, and bidding him kill her, if he
could produce any credible testimony that she had acted in that manner.
Herod also sent for his son, and asked him about this matter, and bid
him contradict if he could, and not suppress any thing he had to say for
himself; and when he had not one word to say, he asked him, since he was
every way caught in his villainy, that he would make no further delay,
but discover his associates in these his wicked designs. So he laid all
upon Antiphilus, but discovered nobody else. Hereupon Herod was in such
great grief, that he was ready to send his son to Rome to Cæsar, there
to give an account of these his wicked contrivances. But he soon became
afraid, lest he might there, by the assistance of his friends, escape
the danger he was in; so he kept him bound as before, and sent more
ambassadors and letters [to Rome] to accuse his son, and an account of
what assistance Acme had given him in his wicked designs, with copies of
the epistles before mentioned.