For the Temple Part 31

The three great towers Phasaelus, Hippicus, and Mariamne--desperately defended by Simon's soldiers--formed an impregnable obstacle on the one side; while Antonia, and the steep ascent up to the Temple platform, was defended with equal stubbornness, and success, by the soldiers of John of Gischala.

t.i.tus therefore prepared for the a.s.sault of the second wall. The point selected for the attack was the middle tower on the northern face, close to which were the wool mart, the clothes mart, and the braziers' shops.

There were no natural obstacles to the approach, and the battering ram was soon placed in position, while a strong body of archers prevented the defenders showing themselves above the parapet. The wall was of far less strength than that which the Romans had before encountered, and soon began to totter before the blows of the battering ram. The Jews, indeed, were indifferent as to its fall; for they knew that the possession of the inner town was of slight importance to them, and that its fall would not greatly facilitate the attack upon what was the natural line of defense--namely, the heights of Zion and Moriah.

For a short time, the Roman advance was delayed by the proceedings of Castor, the Jewish officer commanding the tower which they had a.s.saulted. He, with ten men, alone had remained there when the rest of the defenders had retired; and he got up a sham battle among his men--the Romans suspending operations, under the belief that a party of the defenders were anxious to surrender. Castor himself stood on the parapet, and offered t.i.tus to surrender. t.i.tus promised him his life and, when an archer standing near sent an arrow which pierced Castor's nose, he sternly rebuked him.

He then asked Josephus, who was standing beside him, to go forward and a.s.sure Castor and his companions that their lives should be spared. Josephus, however, knew the way of his countrymen too well, and declined to endanger his life. But, upon Castor offering to throw down a bag of gold, a man ran forward to receive it, when Castor hurled a great stone down at him; and t.i.tus, seeing that he was being fooled, ordered the battering ram to recommence its work.

Just before the tower fell, Castor set fire to it; and leaped with his companions--as the Romans supposed into the flames--but really into a vault, whence they made their escape into the city.

As soon as the tower fell, t.i.tus entered the breach, with his bodyguard and a thousand heavy-armed troops. The inhabitants, almost entirely of the poorer cla.s.s, surrendered willingly; and t.i.tus gave orders that none, save those found with arms upon them, should be killed. The Romans dispersed through the narrow and winding streets when, suddenly, Simon and his men poured down from the upper city; and John, at the head of his band, issued from his quarters.

While some fell upon the Romans in the streets, others entered the houses and rained missiles upon them from above; while another party, issuing from the gate by Phasaelus, attacked the Romans between the second and third walls, and drove them into their camp.

For a time, t.i.tus and those in the lower town suffered terribly; but at last t.i.tus posted archers, to command the lanes leading towards the breach, and managed--but with considerable loss--to withdraw his troops through it.

The Jews at once manned the wall, and formed in close order behind the breach. t.i.tus led his heavy-armed troops against it, but John and Simon defended it with the greatest valor and, for three days and nights, beat back the continued attacks of the Roman soldiers; but at the end of that time they were utterly exhausted, while the Romans incessantly brought up fresh troops. Even Simon--who had fought desperately at the head of his men, and had performed prodigies of valor--could no longer continue the struggle and, slowly and in good order, the defenders of the breach fell back to the upper city, and the lower town remained in the possession of the Romans.

In order to avoid a recurrence of the disaster which had befallen them, t.i.tus ordered a considerable portion of the second wall to be leveled; so that the troops could, if necessary, pour in or out without difficulty. But Simon had no thought of repeating his sortie. A large number of his best men had already fallen, and he determined to reserve his force for the defense of the almost impregnable position of the upper city.

Two hundred of John's band had fallen round the breach, he himself had received several wounds, and the fighting strength of his band was now but one-half of what it was at the commencement of the siege. He had, before the Romans first entered the inner town, had the remainder of his store of grain removed to the building in the upper town which Simon had a.s.signed to his band. It had as yet been but little trenched upon, as Simon had ordered that rations, similar to those issued to his own men, from the few granaries which had escaped destruction, should be given to John's band.

"What do you think, now, of the prospect?" Simon asked, as John and he stood together on the Tower of Phasaelus, on the day after the Romans had taken possession of the lower town.

"I think, as I did at first," John said, "that nothing but a miracle can save the Temple."

"But the difficulties that the Romans have overcome," Simon said, "are as nothing to those still before them."

"That is quite true," John agreed, "and, had we but a good supply of food, I believe that we might hold out for months; but the grain is already nearly exhausted, and cannot support even the fighting men much longer, while the inhabitants are dying from hunger. Well and strong, we might resist every attack that the Romans can make but, when we can no longer lift our swords, they must overcome us.

Still, as long as I can fight I am ready to do so, in hopes that G.o.d may yet have mercy upon us, and deliver his Temple."

Chapter 16: The Subterranean Pa.s.sage.

For a few days after the capture of the lower city, the Jews had a respite. t.i.tus knew that famine was sapping the strength of the defenders, and that every day weakened their power of resistance.

He saw that the a.s.sault upon their strong position would be attended with immense difficulty, and loss, and he was desirous of saving the city from destruction. He ordered, therefore, a grand review of the troops to take place; and for four days the great army at his command--the splendid cavalry, the solid ma.s.ses of the Roman infantry, and the light-armed troops and cavalry of the allies, defiled before him. The Jews from the height of the city watched, with a feeling of dull despair, the tremendous power a.s.sembled against them; and felt the hopelessness of further resistance.

An intense desire for peace reigned, throughout the mult.i.tude, but John of Gischala and Simon had no thought of yielding. They believed that, whatever mercy t.i.tus might be ready to grant to the inhabitants of the town, for them and their followers there was no hope, whatever, of pardon; and they were firmly resolved to resist until the last. t.i.tus, finding that no offers of submission came from the city, sent Josephus to parley with the defenders.

He could not have made a worse choice of an amba.s.sador. Divided as the Jews were, among themselves, they were united in a common hatred for the man whom they regarded as a traitor to his country; and the harangue of Josephus, to the effect that resistance was unavailing, and that they should submit themselves to the mercy of t.i.tus, was drowned by the execrations from the walls. In fact, in no case could his words have reached any large number of the inhabitants; for he had cautiously placed himself out of bow shot of the walls, and his words could scarcely have reached those for whom they had been intended, even if silence had been observed. His mission, therefore, was altogether unavailing.

Ill.u.s.tration: Misery in Jerusalem During the Siege by t.i.tus.

John felt his own resolution terribly shaken, by the sights which he beheld in the city. The inhabitants moved about like specters, or fell and died in the streets. He felt, now, that resistance had been a mistake; and that it would have been far better to have thrown open the gates, when t.i.tus appeared before them--in which case the great proportion, at least, of those within would have been spared, and the Temple and the city itself would have escaped destruction. He even regretted that he had marched down to take part in the defense Had he known how entirely exhausted were the granaries, he would not have done so. He had thought that, at least, there would have been sufficient provisions for a siege of some months, and that the patience of the Romans might have been worn out.

He felt, now, that the sacrifice had been a useless one; but although he, himself, would now have raised his voice in favor of surrender, he was powerless. Even his own men would not have listened to his voice. Originally the most fervent and ardent spirits of his band, they were now inspired by a feeling of desperate enthusiasm, equal to that which animated Simon and John of Gischala; and his authority would have been at once overthrown, had he ventured to raise his voice in favor of surrender.

Already, he had once been made to feel that there were points as to which his influence failed to have any effect, whatever. He had, the morning after they retired to the upper city, spoken to his men on the subject of their store of grain. He had urged on them the horrors which were taking place before their eyes--that women and children were expiring in thousands, and that the inhabitants were suffering the extreme agonies of starvation--and had concluded by proposing that their store should be distributed among the starving women. His words had been received in silence, and then one of the captains of the companies had risen.

"What you say, John, of the sufferings which the people are undergoing is felt by us all; but I, for one, cannot agree to the proposal that we should give up our store of food. Owing to the number of us that have fallen, there are still well-nigh fifty pounds a man left, which will keep us in health and strength for another two months. Were we to give it out, it would not suffice for a single meal, for a quarter of the people a.s.sembled here, and would delay their death but a few hours; thus it would profit them nothing, while it will enable us to maintain our strength--and maybe, at a critical moment, to hurl back the Romans from the very gates of the Temple.

"It would be wickedness, not charity, to part with our store. It would defeat the object for which we came here, and for which we are ready to die, without any real benefit to those on whom we bestowed the food."

A general chorus of approval showed that the speaker represented the opinion of his comrades. After a pause, he went on:

"There is another reason why we should keep what we, ourselves, have brought in here. You know how the soldiers of Simon persecute the people--how they torture them to discover hidden stores of food, how they break in and rob them as they devour, in secret, the provisions they have concealed. I know not whether hunger could drive us to act likewise, but we know the lengths to which famished men can be driven. Therefore, I would that we should be spared the necessity for such cruelties, to keep life together. We are all ready to die, but let it be as strong men, facing the enemy, and slaying as we fall."

Again, the murmur of approval was heard; and John felt that it would be worse than useless to urge the point. He admitted to himself that there was reason in the argument; and that, while a distribution of their food would give the most temporary relief, only, to the mult.i.tude, it would impair the efficiency of the band.

The result showed him that, implicit as was the obedience given to him in all military matters, his influence had its limits; and that, beyond a certain point, his authority ceased.

Henceforth he remained in the house, except when he went to his post on the walls immediately adjoining; and he therefore escaped being harrowed by the sight of sufferings that he could not relieve. Each day, however, he set apart the half of his own portion of grain; and gave it to the first starving woman he met, when he went out. The regulation issue of rations had now ceased.

The granaries were exhausted and, henceforth, Simon's troops lived entirely upon the food they extorted from the inhabitants.

John of Gischala's followers fared better. Enormous as had been the destruction of grain, the stores in the Temple were so prodigious that they were enabled to live in comparative abundance, and so maintained their strength and fighting power.

But the sufferings of the people increased daily, and great numbers made their escape from the city--either sallying out from unguarded posterns, at night; or letting themselves down from the lower part of the walls, by ropes. t.i.tus allowed them to pa.s.s through; but John of Gischala and Simon, with purposeless cruelty, placed guards on all the walls and gates, to prevent the starving people leaving the city--although their true policy would have been to facilitate, in every way, the escape of all save the fighting men; and thus to husband what provisions still remained for the use of the defenders of the city.

In the daytime, when the gates were open, people went out and collected vegetables and herbs from the gardens between the walls and the Roman posts; but on their return were pitilessly robbed by the rough soldiers, who confiscated to their own use all that was brought in. The efforts to escape formed a fresh pretext, to Simon and John of Gischala, to plunder the wealthy inhabitants who, under the charge of intending to fly to the Romans, were despoiled of all they had, tortured and executed.

t.i.tus soon changed his policy and, instead of allowing the deserters to make their way through, seized them and those who went out from the city to seek food, scourged, tortured, and crucified them before the walls. Sometimes as many as five hundred were crucified in a single day. This checked the desertion; and the mult.i.tude, deeming it better to die of hunger than to be tortured to death by the Romans, resigned themselves to the misery of starvation.

For seventeen days, the Romans labored at their embankments, and only one attack was made upon the walls. This was carried out by the son of the King of Commagene, who had just joined the army with a chosen band, armed and attired in the Macedonian fas.h.i.+on. As soon as he arrived, he loudly expressed his surprise at the duration of the siege. t.i.tus, hearing this, told him that he was at perfect liberty to a.s.sault the city, if he liked. This he and his men at once did, and fought with great valor; but with no success whatever, a great number of them being killed, and scarcely one escaping uninjured.

For a fortnight, John had bestowed the half of his ration upon a poor woman, whose child was sick; and who stood at the door of her house, every morning, to wait his pa.s.sing. One day, she begged him to enter.

"I shall need no more food," she said. "Thanks to G.o.d, who sent you to our aid, my child is recovered, and can now walk; and I intend to fly, tonight, from this terrible place."

"But there is no escape," John said. "The soldiers allow none to pa.s.s and, if you could pa.s.s through them, the Romans would slay you."

"I can escape," the woman said, "and that is why I have called you in.

"My husband--who was killed by Simon's robbers, three months ago--was for many years employed in working in the underground pa.s.sages of the city, and in repairing the conduits which carry the water from the springs. As I often carried down his food to him, when he was at work, I know every winding and turn of the underground ways.

"As you know, the ground beneath the city is honeycombed by pa.s.sages whence stone was, in the old time, obtained for buildings.

There are many houses which have entrance, by pits, into these places. This is one of them, and my husband took it for that convenience. From here, I can find my way down to the great conduit which was built, by King Hezekiah, to bring the water from the upper springs of the river Gihon down into the city. Some of these waters supply the pool known as the Dragon Pool, but the main body runs down the conduit in the line of the Tyropoeon Valley; and those from the Temple could, in old times, go down and draw water, thence, should the pools and cistern fail. But that entrance has long been blocked up for, when the Temple was destroyed and the people carried away captives, the ruins covered the entrance, and none knew of it.

"My husband when at work once found a pa.s.sage which ran, for some distance, by the side of some ma.s.sive masonry of old time. One of the great stones was loose; and he prised it out, to see what might lie behind it. When he did so he heard the sound of running water and, pa.s.sing through the hole, found himself in a great conduit.

This he afterwards followed up; and found that it terminated, at the upper end of the Valley of Hinnom, in a round chamber, at the bottom of which springs bubbled up. There was an entrance to this chamber from without, through a pa.s.sage. The outer exit of this was well-nigh filled up with earth, and many bushes grew there; so that none pa.s.sing by would have an idea of its existence.

"When the troubles here became great, he took me and showed me the conduit; and led me to the exit, saying that the time might come when I might need to fly from Jerusalem. The exit lies far beyond the camps that the Romans have planted on either side of the Valley of Hinnom; and by going out at night, I and my child can make our way, unseen, to the hills. Since you have saved our lives, I tell you of this secret; which is known, I think, to none but myself for, after showing me the place, my husband closed up the entrance to the pa.s.sage--which was, before, well-nigh filled up with stones.

"It may be that the time may come when you, too, will need to save yourself by flight. Now, if you will come with me, I will show you the way. See, I have mixed here a pot of charcoal and water, with which we can mark the turnings and the pa.s.sages; so that you will afterwards be able to find your way for, without such aid, you would never be able to follow the path, through its many windings, after only once going through it."

John thanked the woman warmly for her offer, and they at once prepared to descend into the pit. This was situated in a cellar beneath the house; and was boarded over so that plunderers, entering to search for provisions, would not discover it. Upon entering the cellar, the woman lit two lamps.

"They are full of oil," she said, "and I have often been sorely tempted to drink it; but I have kept it untouched, knowing that my life might some day depend upon it."

Rough steps were cut in the side of the pit and, after descending some thirty feet, John found himself in a long pa.s.sage. The woman led the way. As they went on, John was surprised at the number and extent of these pa.s.sages, which crossed each other in all directions--sometimes opening into great chambers, from which large quant.i.ties of stone had been taken--while he pa.s.sed many shafts, like that by which they had descended, to the surface above. The woman led the way with an unfaltering step, which showed how thorough was her acquaintance with the ground; pausing, when they turned down a fresh pa.s.sage, to make a smear at the corner of the wall with the black liquid.