e to take the part of the true patriots,
against men who were conspiring basely to sell the people into the
hands of the Romans.

"At this answer Jesus left the wall, and we held debate upon the
situation. Before the arrival of this new enemy, we felt certain of
overpowering the Zealots; and Ananus would, ere long, have been
persuaded to lay aside his scruples and attack them for, as they
were desecrating the sanctuary, it would be better to shed their
blood there and, when these wicked men were slain, to offer up
atonement and purify the Temple--as had been done before, in the
days of the Maccabees, after the Temple had been defiled.

"We redoubled our guards round the Temple, so that none could issue
out thence to communicate with the Idumeans. At night a terrible
storm set in, with lightning, thunder, and rain, so that the very
earth seemed to shake. A great awe fell upon all, within and
without the city. To all, it seemed a sign of the wrath of God at
the civil discords; but though, doubtless, it was the voice of the
Almighty, it was rather a presage of further evils.

"Under shelter of the storm--which drove all the guards to take
refuge--some of the Zealots cut asunder the bars of the gate, and
crept along the street to the wall. Then they sawed through the
bars of the gate that faced the Idumeans, who were trembling with
terror in the storm. Unseen by anyone, the Idumeans entered the
gate, marched through the city, and approached the Temple. Then
they fell upon our guards, while the Zealots attacked them from
behind.

"Furious at the hours they had passed exposed to the tempest,
ashamed of their fears, and naturally pitiless and cruel, the
Idumeans gave no quarter; and a terrible carnage took place among
the ten thousand men who had been placed in the outer court of the
Temple. Some fought desperately, others threw themselves down from
the wall into the city and, when morning dawned, eight thousand
five hundred of our best fighting men had been slain.

"As soon as it was daylight, the Idumeans broke into the city,
pillaging and slaying. The high priests, Ananus and Jesus, were
among those who were slain; and in that terrible night were
extinguished the last hopes of saving Jerusalem.

"Ananus was a man of the highest character. He had labored
unceasingly to place the city in a posture of defense; believing,
and rightly, that the stronger were its walls, and the more
formidable the resistance it could off