Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: TIBERIAS. 219 he glozvd over his falsehoods so as to make all men believe them, he deceived his nearest friends; affecting humanity, yet most sanguinary for the slightest advantage, lofty in his ambition, but stooping to the basest means to obtain his end. He began as a single robber, but gradually collected a powerful and select banditti, for he would only admit men distinguished either for strength, bravery, or warlike skill. His force at length amounted to 4000, and with these he long wasted Galilee. Such was the man who counterworked all the measures of Josephus, and inflamed the dissensions of the province, already too little disposed to lasting union. For though the cities of Galilee seem generally to have submitted to the administration of Joseph and his coadjutors, so as to permit their walls to be put in a state of defence, yet each had its separate interests and inclinations, and was distracted by violent factions. Sepphoris, though intrusted with building its own walls, and, as Josephus says in one place, hearty in the cause, yet inclmed to the Roman party: the inhabitants had sworn fealty, and given hostages from the chief families of the city to Cestius, these were still at Caesarea. On the arrival of Josephus in his province, he found the territory of Sepphoris threatened with an attack by the rest of the Galileans on account of their dealings with the Romans. This danger was averted by Josephus, and the Sepphorites united, as was before said, in the common cause. Tiberias was distracted by three factions. This city belonged to Agrippa, and one faction, consisting of the more opulent and respectable burghers, headed by Julius Capellus, were desirous of preserving their allegiance to the king. A second of the lowest class, headed by Jesus, son of Saphia, were clamo…
