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it happened that Jews died. For those of the sicarii from the sedition who had fled there persuaded many of those who received them to lay claim to their freedom. And if any of the not obscure Jews opposed them, they killed some, and invited the others to apostasy. But the leaders of the council, having gathered the Jews into an assembly, condemned the madness of the sicarii, and exhorted the multitude to guard against the destruction from them, and to hand them over to the Romans. The multitude, therefore, was persuaded by what was said, and rushing upon the sicarii, they seized them. And about six hundred were captured, but as many as escaped at that time were not long after arrested and brought back. And when every torture was inflicted upon them, so that they might confess Caesar as lord, not one gave in, but all kept their resolve superior to the necessity. And the age of the children especially astounded the spectators; for not one of them was overcome to name Caesar as lord. And the madness of the sicarii also touched the cities around Cyrene. For Jonathan, a most wicked man, a weaver by trade, having escaped into it, persuaded some of the poor to pay attention to him, and led them out into the desert, promising to show signs and wonders. But the leading Jews of Cyrene reported these things to Catullus, the governor of Cyrene. And he, sending soldiers, arrested those with Jonathan. But Jonathan himself escaped at that time, but being diligently sought, was captured, and being brought up 2.84 to the governor, he contrived for himself an escape from punishment, but created for Catullus opportunities for unjust gains. For he said, falsely accusing them, that the wealthiest of the Jews had been his teachers in what was done; and the governor eagerly received the slanders. And in addition to believing readily, he also instructed the sicarii in the false accusation; and they, being prompted by him, informed against many. Here, then, at that time, the sufferings of the Jews ended, with Jerusalem enduring its final capture by the Romans. And again, when Aelius Hadrian was ruling the Romans, the Jews revolted and took up arms against the Romans. But then also they were defeated and wiped out, with many myriads being destroyed, so that very few were left, concerning which matters will be related in their proper places. Since history has mentioned the Romans and has assigned to them an invincible power, it is altogether necessary to say and to teach or to remind those who will come upon this very treatise who the Romans are and whence their nation was formed from the beginning, and from where it got its name, and what forms of government it used, and what fortunes it encountered, and how it advanced to the height of prosperity so as to rule almost the entire inhabited world and to assume power over nearly all, and how, having been ruled by a king from the beginning, it changed to an aristocracy, that is, dictatorships and consulships, and again was transformed to a democracy, then returned to a monarchy. I must now 2.85 speak about these things and relate them, abridging the breadth of the narrative as much as possible and curtailing the long-windedness, so that the matters of the history may be easy to survey and may not escape the memory of those who come after. Aeneas, after the Trojan war, arrived among the Aborigines, who formerly inhabited the country in which Rome has been built, when Latinus the son of Faunus then held their rule, and he put in at Laurentum near the river Numicius, where according to some oracle he is said to have prepared to make his settlement. But Latinus, the ruler of the country, prevented Aeneas from establishing himself in the country. And joining battle, he is defeated; then, through dreams appearing to both, they are reconciled; and he yields the settlement to him, and gives his daughter Lavinia in marriage. There Aeneas, having built a city, named it Lavinium; and the country was called Latium and the people there were called Latins. But the Rutulians, bordering the country, setting out from the city of Ardea,

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ἀποθανεῖν ̓Ιουδαίους συμβέβηκεν. οἱ γὰρ ἐκ τῆς στάσεως τῶν σικαρίων καταφυγόντες ἐκεῖ πολλοὺς τῶν ὑποδεξαμένων επειθον τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἀντιποιεῖσθαι. εἰ δέ τινες αὐτοῖς τῶν οὐκ ἀφανῶν ̓Ιουδαίων ἀντέβαινον, τοὺς μὲν εκτεινον, τοὺς δ' αλλους πρὸς ἀποστασίαν προεκαλοῦντο. οἱ δὲ τῆς γερουσίας πρωτεύοντες εἰς ἐκκλησίαν τοὺς ̓Ιουδαίους ἀθροίσαντες ηλεγχον τὴν τῶν σικαρίων ἀπόνοιαν, καὶ φυλάξασθαι τὸ πλῆθος παρεκάλουν τὸν ἐξ αὐτῶν ολεθρον, παραδοῦναι δὲ ̔Ρωμαίοις αὐτούς. ἐπείσθη τοίνυν τὸ πλῆθος τοῖς λεγομένοις, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς σικαρίους ᾳξαντες συνήρπαζον αὐτούς. καὶ ἑάλωσαν μὲν περὶ ἑξακοσίους, οσοι δὲ τότε διέφυγον οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν συλληφθέντες ἐπανήχθησαν. καὶ πάσης αὐτοῖς ἐπενεχθείσης βασάνου, οπως Καίσαρα δεσπότην ὁμολογήσωσιν, οὐδεὶς ἐνέδωκεν, ἀλλὰ πάντες τὴν γνώμην ὑπερτέραν τῆς ἀνάγκης ἐτήρησαν. μάλιστα δ' ἡ τῶν παίδων ἡλικία τοὺς θεωμένους ἐξέπληξεν· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκείνων τις ἐξενικήθη Καίσαρα δεσπότην ἐξονομάσαι. Ηψατο δὲ καὶ τῶν περὶ Κυρήνην πόλεων ἡ τῶν σικαρίων ἀπόνοια. διεκπεσὼν γὰρ εἰς αὐτὴν Ἰωνάθης πονηρότατος ανθρωπος, τὴν τέχνην ὑφάντης, τινὰς τῶν ἀπόρων ἀνέπεισε προσέχειν αὐτῷ, καὶ προήγαγεν εἰς τὴν ερημον, σημεῖα δείξειν καὶ τέρατα ὑπισχνούμενος. οἱ δὲ τῶν ἐπὶ Κυρήνης ̓Ιουδαίων πρωτεύοντες Κατύλλῳ τῷ τῆς Κυρήνης ἡγεμόνι ταῦτα ἀγγέλλουσιν. ὁ δὲ στρατιώτας ἀποστείλας συνέσχε τοὺς μετὰ ̓Ιωνάθου. αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ ̓Ιωνάθης τότε μὲν διέφυγεν, ἐπιμελῶς δὲ ζητηθεὶς ηλω, καὶ ἀναχθεὶς 2.84 πρὸς τὸν ἡγεμόνα ἑαυτῷ μὲν ἐμηχανᾶτο τῆς τιμωρίας ἐξάλυξιν, τῷ Κατύλλῳ δὲ ἀφορμὰς ἀδίκων κερδῶν περιεποιήσατο. τοὺς γὰρ πλουσιωτάτους τῶν ̓Ιουδαίων ελεγε, καταψευδόμενος αὐτῶν, διδασκάλους αὐτῷ τῶν δρωμένων γενέσθαι· καὶ ὁ ἡγεμὼν προθύμως ἐδέχετο τὰς διαβολάς. πρὸς δὲ τῷ πιστεύειν ῥᾳδίως καὶ τὴν ψευδῆ κατηγορίαν τοὺς σικαρίους ἐδίδασκε· καὶ πολλῶν κατεῖπον ὑπ' ἐκείνου ὑποβαλλόμενοι. ̓Ενταῦθα μὲν ουν τότε τὰ τῶν ̓Ιουδαίων ἐτελεύτησε πάθη, ὑπὸ ̔Ρωμαίων τῆς ̔Ιερουσαλὴμ τὴν τελευταίαν ὑποστάσης αλωσιν. καὶ αυθις δὲ Αἰλίου τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων κρατοῦντος ̓Αδριανοῦ ἐστασίασαν ̓Ιουδαῖοι καὶ κατὰ ̔Ρωμαίων ὡπλίσθησαν. ἀλλὰ καὶ τότε ἡττήθησάν τε καὶ ἐξετρίβησαν, πολλῶν φθαρεισῶν μυριάδων, ὡς λίαν περιλειφθῆναι βραχεῖς, περὶ ων ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις τόποις ἱστορηθήσεται. ̔Ρωμαίων δὲ μνησθείσης τῆς ἱστορίας καὶ τούτοις κράτος ἀναθεμένης ἀήττητον, ἀναγκαῖον πάντως εἰπεῖν καὶ διδάξαι η ἀναμνῆσαι τοὺς ἐντευξομένους τούτῳ δὴ τῷ συγγράμματι τίνες τε οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι καὶ οθεν τὸ τούτων εθνος συνέστη τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς, καὶ πόθεν τὴν κλῆσιν εσχε, καὶ τίσι πολιτείαις ἐχρήσατο, καὶ οιαις τύχαις ἐνέκυρσε, καὶ οπως προύκοψεν εἰς εὐδαιμονίας ἀκρότητα ὡς μικροῦ κυριεῦσαι τῆς οἰκουμένης ἁπάσης καὶ τὸ κράτος κατὰ πάντων σχεδὸν ἀναδήσασθαι, καὶ οπως βασιλευθὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς εἰς ἀριστοκρατίαν ητοι δικτατωρείας καὶ ὑπατείας μετέπεσε, καὶ εἰς δημοκρατίαν αυθις μετήνεκτο, ειτα εἰς μοναρχίαν ἐπανελήλυθεν. ῥητέον μοι τοί2.85 νυν καὶ περὶ τούτων καὶ διηγητέον ὡς ἐνὸν ἐπιτέμνοντι τὸ πλάτος τῆς διηγήσεως καὶ τὴν μακρηγορίαν συστέλλοντι, ιν' ειεν εὐσύνοπτα τὰ τῆς ἱστορίας καὶ τὴν τῶν ἐπιόντων μνήμην μὴ διαφεύγοιεν. Αἰνείας μετὰ τὸν Τρωικὸν πόλεμον ἀφῖκτο πρὸς ̓Αβορίγινας, οι πρῴην τὴν χώραν ῳκουν καθ' ην ἡ ̔Ρώμη πεπόλισται, Λατίνου τοῦ Φαύνου τότε τὴν τούτων ἀρχὴν εχοντος, καὶ προσέσχε Λαυρεντῷ κατὰ τὸν Νουμίκιον ποταμόν, ενθα κατά τι δὴ θεοπρόπιον λέγεται παρασκευάζεσθαι ποιήσασθαι τὴν κατοίκησιν. ὁ δὲ τῆς χώρας αρχων Λατῖνος ἀπεῖργε τῷ Αἰνείᾳ τὴν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ καθίδρυσιν. καὶ συμβαλὼν ἡττᾶται· ειτα δι' ὀνειράτων φανέντων ἀμφοῖν καταλλάττονται· καὶ τῆς κατοικίας αὐτῷ παραχωρεῖ, καὶ τὴν θυγατέρα Λαουινίαν εἰς γάμον ἐκδίδωσιν. ενθα πόλιν ὁ Αἰνείας οἰκοδομήσας ὠνόμασε Λαουίνιον· η τε χώρα Λάτιον ἐπεκλήθη καὶ οἱ ανθρωποι οἱ ἐκεῖ Λατῖνοι προσηγορεύθησαν. ̔Ρουτοῦλοι δὲ ὁμοροῦντες τῇ χώρᾳ ἐκ πόλεως ̓Αρδέας ὁρμώμενοι,