4. Finally, under the personal direction of Titus, a battering ram was set up against the middle tower of the north wall, where a cunning Jew, named Castor, stood guard with ten like him, after others had fled before the archers. For some time they lay quietly, hiding behind the parapets; but when the tower began to waver, they sprang out from different places; Castor at this stretched out his hands, like a man begging for mercy, appealing to Caesar, and in a pitiful voice begged for pity on him. Titus frankly believed him, hoping that the Jews were now about to change their way of thinking; he therefore ordered the ramming to be stopped, forbade the shooting of those who asked, and invited Castor to speak. When he declared that he wished to go down and surrender, Titus replied that he welcomed his sensible decision, and would be very glad if all followed his example, as he, for his part, would gladly extend a hand of reconciliation to the city. Five out of ten joined in the hypocritical entreaties of Castor, while others cried out that they would never become slaves of the Romans so long as they had the opportunity of dying as free men. A long time elapsed in this dispute, during which the offensive was suspended. Castor, meanwhile, sent word to Simon that he could safely consult with his men about matters that could not be delayed, for he would delay the Roman army for a long time. At the same time he pretended to try to induce those who resisted him to surrender as well, and they, as if in indignation, raised their drawn swords over the parapets, pierced their shields, and fell to the ground as if stabbed. Titus and those around him were amazed at the determination of these men, and being unable to see everything exactly from below, they marveled only at their courage and at the same time regretted their fate. Then one of the Romans wounded Castor in the face near the nose; Castor pulled out an arrow, showed it to Titus, and complained about the unfair treatment. Caesar reprimanded the shooter, and instructed Josephus, who was standing near him, to go to the wall and stretch out his hand to Castor, but Josephus refused, for he suspected that the petitioners were plotting evil, and he also restrained his friends who wished to hasten thither. A deserter named Aeneas volunteered for this task, and as Castor was still shouting for someone to come to get the money that was in his possession, this Aeneas ran even more quickly and put up his cloak; but Castor picked up the stone and threw it down; He did not hit him, as he was on his guard, but wounded the soldier accompanying him. This deception led Titus to the conviction that leniency in war is only harmful, while severity is more protective against cunning. Enraged by this mockery, he ordered the battering ram to act with greater indomitableness. When the tower was already shaking under his blows, Castor and his men set it on fire and jumped through the flames into the secret passage beneath it, which once more surprised the Romans with their courage, who believed that they had thrown themselves into the fire. [350]

Chapter Eight

How the Romans took the second wall twice and prepared to take the third.

1. At this place Titus took possession of the second wall five days after the capture of the first. After the Jews had departed from it, he entered with a thousand armed soldiers, and with a select detachment to form his retinue, and occupied in the New City the woollen market, the blacksmiths' shops, and the square where the dress trade took place, as well as the streets which sloped towards the wall. If he had at once either broken down a greater part of the wall, or, as is the custom of war, destroyed the part of the city which had been taken, his victory, in my opinion, would not have been marred by any loss. But Titus hoped that, by avoiding the drastic measures which he could take at will, he would soften the obstinacy of the Jews, and therefore he ordered that the entrance should not be widened so as to make it convenient for retreat; he thought that those to whom he wished to show leniency would not ambush him. Still more, at his accession, he forbade the killing of any of the captured Jews or the burning of houses; at the same time he gave the rebels freedom to continue the struggle, if only they could do so without harm to the people, and promised to restore the latter's property. For it was extremely important for him to preserve the city for himself, and the temple for the city. The people had been inclined to yield and yield before,43 but the soldiers of the Jews had taken their philanthropy for impotence: Titus, they thought, had so decreed because he felt himself unable to take possession of the whole city. They threatened death to anyone who thought of surrendering; and whoever uttered a word of peace was killed. At the same time they attacked the Romans who had entered, partly rushing to meet them in the streets, partly firing at them from their houses; at the same time, other detachments made sorties from the Upper Gate against the Romans who were outside the wall. These sorties so terrified the guards stationed at the wall that they hurriedly jumped down from the towers and fled to their camp. A loud cry arose among the Romans: those who were inside the city were surrounded by the enemy, and those standing outside were seized with terror at the sight of the danger of their comrades who had been abandoned. Meanwhile, the number of Jews increased more and more; An accurate acquaintance with the streets gave them a considerable advantage: they wounded a mass of Romans and pushed them back with irresistible force. The latter were forced to offer prolonged resistance, since they could not escape in large masses through a narrow passage made in the wall. All those who entered the city would undoubtedly have been slain if Titus had not come to their aid. Having placed the archers at the ends of the streets, he himself stood in the most terrible stampede and repulsed the enemy with arrows. Domitius Sabinus fought side by his side, and in this battle he showed himself to be exceedingly brave. Continuing the firing without interruption, Caesar thereby repulsed the attack of the Jews until his soldiers had made their retreat.

2. Thus the Romans, after they had already conquered the second wall, were again driven back from it. The spirit of the Jews, who wanted war, rose still more; Success inspired them with new hopes. The Romans, they thought, would no longer dare to enter the city, and if the struggle was renewed, they would never be victorious. God darkened their minds for their sins, and they did not see that the expelled troops were still only a small part of the Roman army, and did not notice the famine creeping up on them. They themselves continued to be satiated with the cries of citizens and feed on the blood of the inhabitants! The best people have long since experienced a lack of everything, even the most necessary products of life. But in the death of people the rebels saw only relief for themselves; only those they considered worthy of life who did not want to know about the world and lived in order to fight the Romans; and if the masses who reasoned differently perished, then they only rejoiced at this, as a liberation from a heavy burden. This is how they treated the inhabitants of the city. As for the Romans, if they tried to invade the city again, they repulsed them with an armed hand and plugged the holes in the wall with their bodies. For three days they held out like this, bravely resisting. But on the fourth day Titus's heroic blow was too strong for them: they were thrown back and stretched to their former position. Titus then again took possession of the wall and ordered the entire northern part of it to be demolished. In the towers of the southern wall he placed a garrison and began to think of taking the third wall by assault.

Chapter Nine

Titus, since the Jews, in spite of the suspension of the siege, had not relented in the least, again proceeded to the siege and sent Joseph to negotiate peace with his countrymen.

1. Titus, however, decided to suspend the siege for the time being, and to give the rebels time to come to their senses, in order to see whether they would not become more accommodating in view of the destruction of the second wall, or for fear of starvation, since the supplies they had plundered could no longer last long. This [352] rest he used for the right purpose, namely; for the issuance of food to the soldiers, for which the time has already come. He ordered the commanders to lead the army to a place visible to the enemy, and there to hand over to each soldier separately the pay due to him. [44] According to the custom adopted in such cases, the army marched out with open shields, which were usually covered with covers, and fully armed; riders also led their horses in all their decoration. The surroundings of the city shone with a bright glitter of silver and gold, and as delightful as the sight was to the Romans, so terrible was it to their enemies. The entire ancient wall and the north side of the temple were crowded with spectators, even the roofs of the houses were covered with curious people, and the entire city seemed to be boiling with crowds of people.