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who were being killed. And when an unbearable famine was then gripping the city, it was possible to see the rebels inside acting much worse than the enemy; for if they saw a door anywhere shut, breaking it down they would rush in and snatch the bread from their throats. For this very reason they would torture old men, and tear women to pieces, and dash infants to the ground. And stopping up the passages of their private parts with vetch, and piercing the posteriors of the wretched with sharp rods, they thus compelled them to reveal a single handful of hidden barley-meal. And they chewed scraps of grass, but mothers overlooked their infants wasting away from hunger in their own hands, and they took no account of those dying and perishing from want before their very eyes. And every house, being filled with corpses and stinking, brought on a grievous pestilence. And the famine destroyed more than the war; for what was left uneaten? Then also a certain woman, noble and rich, by name Maria, having fled from the country to the city, when all her property was taken away from her by the rebels, having a nursing child, slaughtered it; and having roasted half she ate it, and 1.376 leaving the other half she kept it. And they, smelling the savor and rushing in, threatened to kill her if she did not show them the portion. But she, bringing forth the remains of the little child, said, "This was once my own true child, but now a most miserable thing, eat you also, for I too have eaten, and do not become more compassionate than me who bore him; but if you turn away, leave the rest for me." And they, having thus seen and heard, beating their own faces, went out trembling. Thus the infant which had come forth well from the womb wretchedly returned again to the same belly. And this has been recorded as a sign of the God-sent wrath. For while war was raging fiercely around the circuit, suddenly a violent storm, falling between the two parties, directed the missiles sent by the Romans accurately against them, but carried aside the ones sent by the Jews against them. Wherefore the Romans, seeing their eyes being dimmed by the storm, both secretly mounted up and furiously slew them. And after two years Titus, having taken Jerusalem, burned the whole of it and the temple in it with fire. Then truly anointing and judgment were utterly destroyed, and in the end its desolation was given, that is, they reaped the fruit of their disobedience, a complete destruction and most full desolation. And why should I say many things? That Josephus, being a lover of truth, relates concerning this, being present there during both the war and the capture. Anyone who reads him will know more clearly. He says that the people numbered three hundred 1.377 myriads including infants and women, but that one hundred and ten myriads of men perished in the famine and the war against each other, and he wrote that they had been destroyed in the confinement in which they willingly shut themselves up and killed themselves in underground places. And those who were in the prime of life and distinguished for the beauty of their body were led for the triumph of Rome to fight with wild beasts, but of the rest of the multitude, those over 17 years of age were sent as prisoners to the works in Egypt, and the greatest part were exiled to the provinces to be destroyed in theaters by sword and by wild beasts; and those captives under 17 years of age he ordered to be led away to be sold; and the number of these alone was observed to be nine myriads of men. Then indeed they say also a famine occurred in Rome of such a kind that for many days over ten thousand died each day. Then they say the Rhodians also erected a colossus, a pillar of bronze to Zeus, of one hundred and twenty-seven feet. After the capture of Jerusalem Simeon the son of Cleopas succeeded to the throne of Jerusalem. This Nero, filled with irrational madness, killed his own mother and his sister and his wife and all his relatives and most of the most distinguished Romans.

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ὅσοι ἀνῃροῦντο. λιμοῦ δὲ τότε τὴν πόλιν ἀφο ρήτου κατακρατοῦντος, ἦν ἰδεῖν πολλῷ χείρω τῶν πολεμίων τοὺς ἔνδον δρῶντας στασιαστάς· εἴ που γὰρ θύραν εἶδον κεκλεισμένην, κατακλῶντες εἰσεπήδων καὶ ἐκ τῶν φαρύγγων διηρπάζοντο τὸν ψωμόν. τούτου δὴ ἕνεκα καὶ γέροντας ἐβασάνιζον καὶ γύναια ἐσπάραττον καὶ νήπια ἤρασσον εἰς γῆν. ὀρόβοις δὲ τοὺς πόρους τῶν αἰδοίων ἐμφράττοντες, καὶ ῥάβδοις ὀξείαις τὰς ἕδρας τῶν ἀθλίων διαπερονῶντες, οὕτως ἠνάγκαζον δράκα μίαν ἀλφίτου μηνῦσαι κεκρυμμένην. καὶ χόρτου μὲν σπαράγματα διεμασῶντο, μητέρες δὲ τῶν νηπίων ταῖς ἑαυτῶν χερσὶ τῷ λιμῷ μαραινομένων ὑπερεώρων, καὶ τῶν πρὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτῶν θνησκόντων καὶ τῇ ἐνδείᾳ καταφθειρομένων παρελογίζοντο. πᾶσα δὲ οἰκία νεκρῶν πληρουμένη καὶ ἐπόζουσα ἀργαλέον ἐνέσκηψε λοιμόν. καὶ πλείους ὁ λιμὸς ἢ ὁ πόλεμος ἀνάλωσε· τί γὰρ παρελείφθη μὴ βρωθέν; τότε καὶ γυνή τις εὐγενὴς καὶ πλουσία, τοὔνομα Μαρία, ἐκ τῆς χώρας καταφυγοῦσα πρὸς τὴν πόλιν, ἐπειδὴ πᾶσαν αὐτῆς ὑπὸ τῶν στασιαστῶν ἀφῃρέθη τὴν περιουσίαν, ὑπομάζιον ἔχουσα τέκνον τοῦτο καταθύει· καὶ ὀπτήσασα τὸ ἥμισυ μὲν ἔφαγε, τὸ 1.376 ἥμισυ δὲ καταλείψασα ἐτήρει. οἱ δὲ τῆς κνίσσης αἰσθόμενοι καὶ εἰσπηδήσαντες ἀνελεῖν ἠπείλουν, εἰ μὴ ἐπιδείξειε τὸ μέρος. ἡ δὲ τοῦ παιδαρίου τὰ λείψανα προαγαγοῦσα "τοῦτο" ἔφη "τὸ ἐμόν ποτε γνήσιον τέκνον, νῦν δὲ πανάθλιον, φάγετε καὶ ὑμεῖς, ὅτι κἀγὼ βέβρωκα, καὶ μὴ γένησθε ἐμοῦ τῆς αὐτὸ γεννησαμένης συμ παθέστεροι· εἰ δὲ ἀποστρέφεσθε, τὸ λοιπὸν ἐμοὶ καταλείψατε." οἱ δὲ οὕτως ἰδόντες καὶ ἀκούσαντες, τὰς αὐτῶν ὄψεις τύψαντες, τρέμοντες ἐξῆλθον. οὕτω τὸ καλῶς ἐκ κοιλίας ἐξελθὸν βρέφος εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν πάλιν κακῶς ὑπέστρεψε γαστέρα. καὶ τοῦτο δὲ τῆς θεηλάτου ὀργῆς σημεῖον ἱστόρηται. καὶ γὰρ πολέμου ἐπὶ τῇ περιοχῇ σφοδρῶς συρρηγνυμένου ἐξάπινα θύελλα σφόδρα μεταξὺ τῶν δύο μερῶν παρεμπεσοῦσα τὰ παρὰ τῶν Ῥωμαίων μὲν ἀφιέ μενα βέλη εὐστόχως ἴθυνεν ἐπ' αὐτούς, τὰ παρὰ Ἰουδαίων δὲ πρὸς αὐτοὺς πεμπόμενα πλάγια παρέσυρεν. ὅθεν τὰς ὄψεις αὐ τῶν οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι ἐκ τῆς θυέλλης ἀμαυρουμένας θεασάμενοι λα θραίως τε ἐπανέβαινον καὶ ἐκτόνως κατέκτεινον αὐτούς. Ἐπὶ δυσὶ δὲ ἔτεσιν ὁ Τῖτος τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ παραλαβὼν πᾶσαν αὐτὴν καὶ τὸν ἐν αὐτῇ ναὸν κατῃθάλωσεν ἐν πυρί. τότε ἀληθῶς ἐξωλοθρεύθη χρίσμα καὶ κρῖμα, καὶ ἐν συντελείᾳ ἡ ἐρή μωσις αὐτῆς ἐδόθη, τουτέστι συντετελεσμένην ἀπώλειαν καὶ πλη ρεστάτην ἐρήμωσιν τῆς ἀπειθείας αὐτῶν ἐτρύγησαν καρπόν. καὶ τί μοι τὰ πολλὰ λέγειν; Ἰώσηπος ὁ ἐκεῖνος, φιλαλήθης ὤν, ἱστορεῖ περὶ τούτου τῷ τε πολέμῳ καὶ τῇ ἁλώσει ἐκεῖσε συνών. τούτῳ τις ἐντυχὼν εἴσεται σαφέστερον. ὃς τὸν μὲν λαὸν εἰς τριακοσίας μυ 1.377 ριάδας ἠριθμῆσθαί φησι σὺν νηπίοις καὶ γυναιξίν, ἄνδρας δὲ ἑκατὸν δέκα μυριάδας ἐν τῷ λιμῷ καὶ τῷ πολέμῳ τῷ πρὸς ἀλλή λους, καὶ ἐν τῷ συγκλεισμῷ ᾧ ἑαυτοὺς ἑκουσίως ἐν ὑπογαίοις τόποις συνέκλεισαν καὶ κατέκτειναν, διεφθορέναι συνεγράψατο. καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἐν ἀκμῇ τῆς ἡλικίας καὶ σώματος κάλλει διαφέροντας τῷ θριάμβῳ Ῥώμης ἀχθῆναι εἰς θηριομαχίαν, τοῦ ἄλλου δὲ πλή θους τοὺς μὲν ὑπὲρ τὰ ιζʹ ἔτη τοὺς μὲν δεσμίους εἰς τὰ κατ' Αἴ γυπτον ἔργα παραπέμπεσθαι, τοὺς πλείστους δὲ εἰς τὰς ἐπαρχίας ὑπερορίζεσθαι φθαρησομένους ἐν θεάτροις καὶ σιδήροις καὶ θη ρίοις· τοὺς ἐντὸς δὲ τῶν ιζʹ ἐτῶν αἰχμαλώτους ἀπάγεσθαι πραθη σομένους διετάξατο· τούτων δὲ μόνων τὸν ἀριθμὸν εἰς θʹ μυριά δας ἀνδρῶν συνθεωρεῖσθαι. Τότε δὴ καὶ λιμὸν κατὰ τὴν Ῥώμην φασὶ γενέσθαι τοιοῦτον ὡς ὑπὲρ μυρίους ἐφ' ἡμέραις πλείοσι καθ' ἡμέραν ἀποθνήσκειν. τότε καὶ κολοσσόν φασι τοὺς Ῥοδίους ἀναστῆσαι στήλην ἐκ χαλκοῦ τῷ ∆ιί, ἑκατὸν εἰκοσιεπτὰ ποδῶν. Μετὰ τὴν τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἅλωσιν Συμεὼν ὁ τοῦ Κλεόπα τὸν θρόνον Ἱεροσολύμων διαδέχεται. Οὗτος ὁ Νέρων μανίας ἀλόγου πλησθεὶς ἀνεῖλε μὲν τὴν αὐ τοῦ μητέρα καὶ τὴν ἀδελφὴν καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τοὺς ἐκ γένους αὐτῷ προσήκοντας πάντας καὶ τῶν ἐπισημοτάτων Ῥωμαίων πλεί στους.