that slew them; for the ground did
no where appear visible, for the dead bodies that lay on it; but the
soldiers went over heaps of those bodies, as they ran upon such as fled
from them. And now it was that the multitude of the robbers were thrust
out [of the inner court of the temple by the Romans,] and had much ado
to get into the outward court, and from thence into the city, while the
remainder of the populace fled into the cloister of that outer court. As
for the priests, some of them plucked up from the holy house the spikes
[18] that were upon it, with their bases, which were made of lead,
and shot them at the Romans instead of darts. But then as they gained
nothing by so doing, and as the fire burst out upon them, they retired
to the wall that was eight cubits broad, and there they tarried; yet did
two of these of eminence among them, who might have saved themselves by
going over to the Romans, or have borne up with courage, and taken their
fortune with the others, throw themselves into the fire, and were burnt
together with the holy house; their names were Meirus the son of Belgas,
and Joseph the son of Daleus.

2. And now the Romans, judging that it was in vain to spare what was
round about the holy house, burnt all those places, as also the remains
of the cloisters and the gates, two excepted; the one on the east side,
and the other on the south; both which, however, they burnt afterward.
They also burnt down the treasury chambers, in which was an immense
quantity of money, and an immense number of garments, and other precious
goods there reposited; and, to speak all in a few words, there it was
that the entire riches of the Jews were heaped up together, while
the rich people had there built themselves chambers [to contain such
furniture]. The soldiers also came to the rest of the cloisters that
were in the outer [court of the] temple, whither the women and children,
and a great mixed multitude of the people, fled, in number about six
thousand. But before Caesar had determined any thing about these people,
or given the commanders any orders relating to them, the soldiers were
in such a rage, that they set that cloister on fire; by which means it
came to pass that some of these were destroyed by throwing themselves
down headlong, and some were burnt in the cloisters themselves. Nor
did any one of them escape with his life. A false prophet [19] was
the occasion of these people's destruction, who had made a publi