, in case they should [at last] surrender the citadel. However,
they were willing to make trial, in the first place, whether the
hopes they had of avoiding a siege would come to any thing; with which
intention they made sallies every day, and fought with those that met
them; in which conflicts they were many of them slain, as they therein
slew many of the Romans. But still it was the opportunities that
presented themselves which chiefly gained both sides their victories;
these were gained by the Jews, when they fell upon the Romans as they
were off their guard; but by the Romans, when, upon the others' sallies
against their banks, they foresaw their coming, and were upon their lard
when they received them. But the conclusion of this siege did not depend
upon these bickerings; but a certain surprising accident, relating to
what was done in this siege, forced the Jews to surrender the citadel.
There was a certain young man among the besieged, of great boldness,
and very active of his hand, his name was Eleazar; he greatly signalized
himself in those sallies, and encouraged the Jews to go out in great
numbers, in order to hinder the raising of the banks, and did the
Romans a vast deal of mischief when they came to fighting; he so managed
matters, that those who sallied out made their attacks easily, and
returned back without danger, and this by still bringing up the rear
himself. Now it happened that, on a certain time, when the fight was
over, and both sides were parted, and retired home, he, in way of
contempt of the enemy, and thinking that none of them would begin the
fight again at that time, staid without the gates, and talked with those
that were upon the wall, and his mind was wholly intent upon what they
said. Now a certain person belonging to the Roman camp, whose lame was
Rufus, by birth an Egyptian, ran upon him suddenly, when nobody expected
such a thing, and carried him off, with his armor itself; while, in the
mean time, those that saw it from the wall were under such an amazement,
that Rufus prevented their assistance, and carried Eleazar to the Roman
camp. So the general of the Romans ordered that he should be taken up
naked, set before the city to be seen, and sorely whipped before their
eyes. Upon this sad accident that befell the young man, the Jews were
terribly confounded, and the city, with one voice, sorely lamented him,
and the mourning proved greater than could well be supposed upon the
calamity of