when they came out, and for these did the seditious
search them all; for there was a great quantity of gold in the city,
insomuch that as much was now sold [in the Roman camp] for twelve Attic
[drachmas] as was sold before for twenty-five. But when this contrivance
was discovered in one instance, the fame of it filled their several
camps, that the deserters came to them full of gold. So the multitude
of the Arabians, with the Syrians, cut up those that came as
supplicants, and searched their bellies. Nor does it seem to me that any
misery befell the Jews that was more terrible than this, since in one
night's time about two thousand of these deserters were thus dissected.

When Titus came to the knowledge of this wicked practice, he threatened
that he would put such men to death if any of them were discovered to be
so insolent as to do so again. Moreover, he gave it in charge to the
legions, that they should make a search after such as were suspected,
and should bring them to him. But it appeared that the love of money was
too great for all their dread of punishment, and a vehement desire of
gain is natural to men, and no passion is so venturesome as
covetousness. Otherwise such passions have certain bounds and are
subordinate to fear. But in reality it was God who condemned the whole
nation and turned every course that was taken for their preservation to
their destruction. This, therefore, which was forbidden by Caesar under
such a threatening, was ventured upon privately against the deserters,
and these barbarians would go out still and meet those that ran away
before any saw them, and looking about them to see that no Roman spied
them, they dissected them and pulled this polluted money out of their
bowels, which money was still found in a few of them, while yet a great
many were destroyed by the bare hope there was of thus getting by them,
which miserable treatment made many that were deserting to return back
again into the city.

And, indeed, why do I relate these particular calamities? while Manneus,
the son of Lazarus, came running to Titus at this very time and told him
that there had been carried out through that one gate, which was
intrusted to his care, no fewer than a hundred and fifteen thousand
eight hundred and eighty dead bodies in the interval between the
fourteenth day of the month Xanthicus (Nisan), when the Romans pitched
their camp by the city, and the first day of the month Panemus (Tamuz).
This was