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of the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the temple, a voice against bridegrooms and brides, a voice against all the people. And he went around the city crying these things day and night. And being beaten because of the ill-omened cry, he shouted nothing other than the same words. And being brought before the Roman who was then procurator of the country, and flayed with whips, he neither supplicated nor wept, but turning his voice mournfully at each blow, he cried, 'Woe to Jerusalem,' until Albinus, for he was procurator then, condemning him for madness, released him. And from that time until the war he lamented, 'Woe to Jerusalem.' And especially at the feasts he cried out the gloomy omen. And he did this for seven years and five months, until during the siege, going around on the wall, he cried out piercingly again, 'Woe to the city and to the temple and to the people.' And when he added at last, 'Woe to me also,' a stone from a catapult struck and killed him. And the Romans, while the rebels fled into the city, and the temple and all the surroundings were burning, brought their standards into the sacred precinct and with the greatest acclamations proclaimed Titus emperor. And all the soldiers profited so much from the spoils that throughout Syria the standard weight of gold was sold for 2.70 half its former value. But the priests who had gone up onto the wall of the temple, as has been said, after holding out for five days and starving, came down supplicating to receive safety. But Titus said that the time for pardon had passed, and saying that since the temple was gone, the priests also must perish with it, he ordered the men to be punished. But those around the tyrants, being unable to escape, summoned Titus for a parley. And he came, and reproached them for their desperation, and promised to grant them their lives if they threw down their arms and surrendered their persons. And the brigands said that they could not receive a pledge from him, having sworn never to do this, but they asked for a way out with their women and children, and to leave the city to him. Titus was indignant at this, and ordered that none of them desert any longer nor hope to receive a pledge, for he would spare no one, but to fight and save themselves as they could. And he ordered the soldiers to burn and plunder the city; and they set fire everywhere. But the rebels, rushing to the royal palace, in which many had deposited their possessions because of its strength, both turned the Romans from it and, having slaughtered all the people gathered there, numbering eight thousand four hundred, plundered the valuables. On the next day the Romans, having routed the brigands from the lower city, burned everything as far as Siloam. And the rebels, seeing the city burning, with cheerful faces said they were content to await2.71 their end. They neither endured to surrender themselves nor were they able to fight the Romans, but scattering through the parts in front of the city, if they found any wishing to desert, they slaughtered them. And no place in the city was left bare, but every one had a corpse from famine or from sedition. A last hope warmed the tyrants and their band of brigands: the underground passages, into which if they fled, they did not expect to be searched out; and when the Romans had departed, they were confident they could come forth and escape. But this was a dream; for they were not going to escape the notice of God or the Romans. And there was also war among themselves over the spoils. Caesar, since it was impossible to take the upper city without earthworks, as it was precipitous, distributed the force for the works. During these days, therefore, the leaders of the Idumaeans, sending five men to Titus, supplicated him to give them a pledge. And he, hoping that the tyrants would give in if the Idumaeans were drawn away, granted them their safety. And Simon, learning their intention, immediately killed the five who had met with Titus, and arrested the leaders and imprisoned them;

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δύσεως, φωνὴ ἀπὸ τῶν τεσσάρων ἀνέμων, φωνὴ ἐπὶ ̔Ιεροσόλυμα καὶ τὸν ναόν, φωνὴ ἐπὶ νυμφίους καὶ νύμφας, φωνὴ ἐπὶ πάντα τὸν λαόν. καὶ περιῄει τὴν πόλιν ταῦτα κεκραγὼς μεθ' ἡμέραν καὶ νύκτωρ. παιόμενος δὲ διὰ τὸ κακόφημον, ὁ δὲ οὐδὲν ετερον η τὰς αὐτὰς ἐβόα φωνάς. ἀναχθεὶς δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὸν τῆς χώρας ἐπιτροπεύοντα τότε ̔Ρωμαῖον, καὶ καταξανθεὶς μάστιξιν, ουθ' ἱκέτευσεν ουτ' ἐδάκρυσεν, ἀλλὰ τὴν φωνὴν ὀλοφυρτικῶς παρακλίνων πρὸς ἑκάστην πληγὴν Αἰαῖ ̔Ιεροσολύμοις ἐβόα, μέχρι καταγνοὺς μανίαν αὐτοῦ ὁ ̓Αλβῖνος, ουτος γὰρ ἐπετρόπευε τότε, ἀπέλυσεν αὐτόν. ὁ δ' εκτοτε μέχρι τοῦ πολέμου Αἰαῖ ̔Ιεροσολύμοις ἐθρήνει. ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἑορταῖς μάλιστα τὴν σκυθρωπὴν ἐκεκράγει κληδόνα. καὶ τοῦτ' ἐποίει ἐπὶ ετη ἑπτὰ καὶ μῆνας πέντε, μέχρις ου κατὰ τὴν πολιορκίαν περιιὼν ἐπὶ τοῦ τείχους Αἰαῖ πάλιν τῇ πόλει καὶ τῷ ναῷ καὶ τῷ λαῷ διαπρυσίως ἐβόα. ὡς δὲ τελευταῖον προσέθηκεν Αἰαῖ κἀμοί, λίθος ἐκ τοῦ πετροβόλου πλήξας αὐτὸν εκτεινε. ̔Ρωμαῖοι δὲ τῶν μὲν στασιαστῶν καταπεφευγότων εἰς τὴν πόλιν, καιομένου δὲ τοῦ ναοῦ καὶ τῶν πέριξ ἁπάντων, κομίσαντες τὰς σημαίας εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν μετὰ μεγίστων εὐφημιῶν τὸν Τίτον ἀπέφηναν αὐτοκράτορα. ουτω δὲ ταῖς ἁρπαγαῖς οἱ στρατιῶται πάντες ἐχρηματίσαντο ωστε κατὰ τὴν Συρίαν πρὸς 2.70 ημισυ τῆς πάλαι τιμῆς τὸν σταθμὸν τοῦ χρυσίου πιπράσκεσθαι. Οἱ δὲ ἀνὰ τὸν τοῖχον τοῦ ναοῦ, ὡς ειρηται, ἀνελθόντες ἱερεῖς, ἐπὶ πέντε ἡμέραις προσκαρτερήσαντες καὶ λιμώξαντες, κατέβησαν ἱκετεύοντες τυχεῖν σωτηρίας. ὁ δὲ Τίτος καὶ τὸν τῆς συγγνώμης καιρὸν παρελθεῖν εφησε, καὶ τοῦ ναοῦ οἰχομένου καὶ τοὺς ἱερεῖς συναπολέσθαι αὐτῷ δεῖν εἰπὼν κολασθῆναι τοὺς ανδρας ἐκέλευσεν. Οἱ δὲ περὶ τοὺς τυράννους διαδρᾶναι μὴ ἰσχύοντες προσκαλοῦνται τὸν Τίτον εἰς λόγους. καὶ ος ηκε, καὶ τὴν ἀπόνοιαν αὐτοῖς ἐξωνείδισε, καὶ ῥίψασι τὰ οπλα καὶ παραδοῦσι τὰ σώματα χαρίζεσθαι τὴν ζωὴν ἐπηγγέλλετο. καὶ οἱ λῃσταὶ δεξιὰν μὲν μὴ δύνασθαι παρ' αὐτοῦ λαβεῖν εφησαν, ὀμωμοκότες μηδέποτε τοῦτο ποιήσειν, εξοδον δὲ ᾐτοῦντο μετὰ γυναικῶν καὶ τέκνων, καὶ καταλείψειν τὴν πόλιν αὐτῷ. ἠγανάκτησε πρὸς ταῦτα ὁ Τίτος, καὶ μήτε αὐτομολεῖν ετι τινὰ σφῶν ἐκέλευσε μήτε δεξιᾶς ἐλπίζειν τυχεῖν, φείσεσθαι γὰρ οὐδενός, μάχεσθαι δὲ καὶ σώζειν ὡς δύναιντο ἑαυτούς. τοῖς δὲ στρατιώταις ἐμπιπρᾶν τὴν πόλιν καὶ διαρπάζειν ἐκέλευσεν· οἱ δὲ τὸ πῦρ ἐνίεσαν πανταχοῦ. οἱ στασιασταὶ δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν βασιλικὴν οἰκίαν ὁρμήσαντες, εἰς ην δι' ὀχυρότητα πολλοὶ τὰς κτήσεις ἀπέθεντο, τούς τε ̔Ρωμαίους ἀπ' αὐτῆς τρέπονται καὶ τὸ συνηθροισμένον αὐτόθι τοῦ δήμου πᾶν φονεύσαντες, εἰς ὀκτακισχιλίους καὶ τετρακοσίους ἀριθμουμένους, τὰ χρήματα διήρπασαν. τῇ δ' ἑξῆς ̔Ρωμαῖοι τρεψάμενοι τοὺς λῃστὰς ἐκ τῆς κάτω πόλεως, τὰ μέχρι τοῦ Σιλωὰμ πάντα ἐνέπρησαν. καιομένην δὲ τὴν πόλιν ὁρῶντες οἱ στασιασταί, ἱλαροῖς τοῖς προσώποις ευθυμοι τὴν τελευτὴν προσδέ2.71 χεσθαι ελεγον. ουτε δὲ παραδοῦναι ἑαυτοὺς ὑπέμενον ουτε πολεμεῖν ̔Ρωμαίοις οιοί τε ησαν, σκιδνάμενοι δὲ κατὰ τὰ εμπροσθεν τῆς πόλεως, ει τινας αὐτομολεῖν ἐθέλοντας ευρισκον, ἀπέσφαττον. καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐν τῇ πόλει τόπος γεγύμνωτο, ἀλλ' απας η λιμοῦ νεκρὸν ειχεν η στάσεως. εθαλπε δὲ τούς τε τυράννους καὶ τὸ σὺν αὐτοῖς λῃστρικὸν ἐλπὶς ἐσχάτη τῶν ὑπονόμων, εἰς ους εἰ καταφύγοιεν, οὐ προσεδόκων ἐρευνηθήσεσθαι· ἀναζευξάντων δὲ τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων ἐθάρρουν προελθεῖν τε καὶ ἀποδρᾶναι. τὸ δὲ ην αρα ονειρος· ουτε γὰρ τὸν θεὸν ουτε ̔Ρωμαίους λήσειν εμελλον. ην δὲ καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐν ταῖς ἁρπαγαῖς πόλεμος αὐτοῖς. Καῖσαρ δέ, ὡς ἀμήχανον ην τὴν ανω πόλιν ἑλεῖν χωμάτων ατερ, ουσαν περίκρημνον, διανέμει τοῖς εργοις τὴν δύναμιν. Κατὰ ταύτας ουν τὰς ἡμέρας οἱ τῶν ̓Ιδουμαίων ἡγεμόνες πέμψαντες ανδρας πέντε πρὸς Τίτον ἱκέτευον δοῦναι αὐτοῖς δεξιάν. ὁ δὲ καὶ τοὺς τυράννους ἐνδώσειν ἐλπίσας ἀποσπασθέντων τῶν ̓Ιδουμαίων κατανεύει τὴν σωτηρίαν αὐτοῖς. καὶ ὁ Σίμων γνοὺς τὴν γνώμην αὐτῶν, τοὺς μὲν πέντε τοὺς ἐντυχόντας τῷ Τίτῳ αὐτίκα ἀναιρεῖ, τοὺς δ' ἡγεμόνας συλλαβὼν ειργνυσιν·