lity of their birth made them unable to contain their indignation;
but whensoever they were uneasy, they showed the anger they had at
it. And as these sons did day after day improve in that their anger,
Antipater already exercised all his own abilities, which were very
great, in flattering his father, and in contriving many sorts of
calumnies against his brethren, while he told some stories of them
himself, and put it upon other proper persons to raise other stories
against them, till at length he entirely cut his brethren off from all
hopes of succeeding to the kingdom; for he was already publicly put into
his father's will as his successor. Accordingly, he was sent with royal
ornaments, and other marks of royalty, to Caesar, excepting the diadem.
He was also able in time to introduce his mother again into Mariamne's
bed. The two sorts of weapons he made use of against his brethren were
flattery and calumny, whereby he brought matters privately to such a
pass, that the king had thoughts of putting his sons to death.

3. So the father drew Alexander as far as Rome, and charged him with an
attempt of poisoning him before Caesar. Alexander could hardly speak for
lamentation; but having a judge that was more skillful than Antipater,
and more wise than Herod, he modestly avoided laying any imputation upon
his father, but with great strength of reason confuted the calumnies
laid against him; and when he had demonstrated the innocency of his
brother, who was in the like danger with himself, he at last bewailed
the craftiness of Antipater, and the disgrace they were under. He was
enabled also to justify himself, not only by a clear conscience, which
he carried within him, but by his eloquence; for he was a shrewd man
in making speeches. And upon his saying at last, that if his father
objected this crime to them, it was in his power to put them to death,
he made all the audience weep; and he brought Caesar to that pass, as
to reject the accusations, and to reconcile their father to them
immediately. But the conditions of this reconciliation were these,
that they should in all things be obedient to their father, and that he
should have power to leave the kingdom to which of them he pleased.

4. After this the king came back from Rome, and seemed to have forgiven
his sons upon these accusations; but still so that he was not without
his suspicions of them. They were followed by Antipater, who was the
fountain-head of those accusat