The Life of Flavius Josephus | Page 9

was outvoted by two, and held my tongue. Then did John introduce another
cunning contrivance of his; for he said that those Jews who inhabited Cesarea Philippi,
and were shut up by the order of the king's deputy there, had sent to him to desire him,
that, since they had no oil that was pure for their use, he would provide a sufficient
quantity of such oil for them, lest they should be forced to make use of oil that came from
the Greeks, and thereby transgress their own laws. Now this was said by John, not out of
his regard to religion, but out of his most flagrant desire of gain; for he knew that two
sextaries were sold with them of Caesarea for one drachma, but that at Gischala fourscore
sextaxies were sold for four sextaries. So he gave order that all the oil which was there
should be carried away, as having my permission for so doing; which yet I did not grant
him voluntarily, but only out of fear of the multitude, since, if I had forbidden him, I
should have been stoned by them. When I had therefore permitted this to be done by John,
he gained vast sums of money by this his knavery.
14. But when I had dismissed my fellow legates, and sent them back to Jerusalem, I took
care to have arms provided, and the cities fortified. And when I had sent for the most
hardy among the robbers, I saw that it was not in my power to take their arms from them;
but I persuaded the multitude to allow them money as pay, and told them it was better for

them to give them a little willingly, rather than to [be forced to] overlook them when they
plundered their goods from them. And when I had obliged them to take an oath not to
come into that country, unless they were invited to come, or else when they had not their
pay given them, I dismissed them, and charged them neither to make an expedition
against the Romans, nor against those their neighbors that lay round about them; for my
first care was to keep Galilee in peace. So I was willing to have the principal of the
Galileans, in all seventy, as hostages for their fidelity, but still under the notion of
friendship. Accordingly, I made them my friends and companions as I journeyed, and set
them to judge causes; and with their approbation it was that I gave my sentences, while I
endeavored not to mistake what justice required, and to keep my hands clear of all
bribery in those determinations.
15. I was now about the thirtieth year of my age; in which time of life it is a hard thing
for any one to escape the calumnies of the envious, although he restrain himself from
fulfilling any unlawful desires, especially where a person is in great authority. Yet did I
preserve every woman free from injuries; and as to what presents were offered me, I
despised them, as not standing in need of them. Nor indeed would I take those tithes,
which were due to me as a priest, from those that brought them. Yet do I confess, that I
took part of the spoils of those Syrians which inhabited the cities that adjoined to us,
when I had conquered them, and that I sent them to my kindred at Jerusalem; although,
when I twice took Sepphoris by force, and Tiberias four times, and Gadara once, and
when I had subdued and taken John, who often laid treacherous snares for me, I did not
punish [with death] either him or any of the people forenamed, as the progress of this
discourse will show. And on this account, I suppose, it was that God, (10) who is never
unacquainted with those that do as they ought to do, delivered me still out of the hands of
these my enemies, and afterwards preserved me when I fell into those many dangers
which I shall relate hereafter.
16. Now the multitude of the Galileans had that great kindness for me, and fidelity to me,
that when their cities were taken by force, and their wives and children carried into
slavery, they did not so deeply lament for their own calamities, as they were solicitous for
my preservation. But when John saw this, he envied me, and wrote to me, desiring that I
would give him leave to come down, and make use of the hot-baths of Tiberias for the
recovery of the health of his body. Accordingly, I did not hinder him, as having no
suspicion of any wicked designs of his; and I wrote to those to whom I had committed the
administration of the affairs of Tiberius