nferior command. Now he is general of the army, and should
be able to keep his oath. Thus, if I had a mission to save the
Temple, I trust that I have fulfilled it; and that, whatever fate
may fall upon the city, the Temple will yet remain erect and
unharmed."

John's words gave new life and energy to the before dispirited men
gathered round him. It seemed to them not only that the Temple
would be saved, but that their belief in their leader's mission as
a deliverer was fully justified; and a feeling of enthusiasm
succeeded that of depression.

"Why did you not tell us before? Why did you not let all your
followers know what a great thing you had done, John?" one of them
asked, presently.

"For two reasons," John replied. "I did not wish to seem to exalt
myself, or to boast of the success which God had given me over the
Roman; for it was assuredly his strength, and not mine, for I
myself could do naught against the strength and skill of Titus and,
as I told you, was wounded nigh to death, while he received small
hurt. In the next place I thought that, if I made it public, it
would be noised abroad through the land; and that Titus, when he
heard that all men knew that he had been worsted in fight with a
Jew, might repent of his oath--or might even ask to be sent to some
other command, so that he might not be called upon to keep it."

John's companions agreed that the second reason was a valid one,
though they did not agree that the first should have weighed with
him.

"It is not by hiding a light under a bushel," one of them said,
"that men gain the confidence of their followers. The more men
believe in their leaders, the more blindly will they follow him,
the greater the efforts they will make for him. It was the belief
in your mission which gathered eight thousand men on these
mountains to follow you; and the proof that you have given us that
that belief was well founded, and that you had a mission to save
the Temple--the knowledge that you had, single handed, forced the
Roman general to swear an oath to save the Temple--would have so
heightened that enthusiasm that they would have followed you, had
you bidden them attack the whole Roman army. I agree that, for your
second reason, it was wise to say nothing of what took place; but
your first was, I think, a mistaken one."

"At any rate," another said, "the hand of God is plainly marked in
the matter; for it has placed Titus in full command, and has thus
given