o which
side soever the battle inclined, those that had the advantage exhorted
one another to go on, as did those that were beaten make great
lamentation. But still there was no room for flight nor for pursuit, but
disorderly revolutions and retreats, while the armies were intermixed
one with another; but those that were in the first ranks were under the
necessity of killing or being killed, without any way for escaping, for
those on both sides that came behind forced those before them to go on,
without leaving any space between the armies.

At length the Jews' violent zeal was too hard for the Romans' skill, and
the battle already inclined entirely that way; for the fight had lasted
from the ninth hour of the night till the seventh hour of the day, while
the Jews came on in crowds, and had the danger the Temple was in for
their motive; the Romans having no more here than a part of their army,
for those legions, on which the soldiers on that side depended, were not
come up to them. So it was at present thought sufficient by the Romans
to take possession of the tower of Antonia.

In the mean time the rest of the Roman army had, in seven days' time,
overthrown [some] foundations of the tower of Antonia, and had made a
ready and broad way to the Temple. Then did the legions come near the
first court and began to raise their banks. The one bank was over
against the northwest corner of the inner temple; another was at that
northern edifice which was between the two gates; and of the other two,
one was at the western cloister of the outer court of the Temple; the
other against its northern cloister. However these works were thus far
advanced by the Romans, not without great pains and difficulty, and
particularly by being obliged to bring their materials from the distance
of a hundred furlongs.

They had further difficulties also upon them; sometimes by their
over-great security they were in that they should overcome the Jewish
snares laid for them, and by that boldness of the Jews which their
despair of escaping had inspired them withal.

In the mean time the Jews were so distressed by the fights they had been
in, as the war advanced higher and higher, and creeping up to the holy
house itself, that they, as it were, cut off those limbs of their body
which were infected, in order to prevent the distemper's spreading
further, for they set the northwest cloister, which was joined to the
tower of Antonia, on fire, and after t