t Knowing It. Herod Brings Him To His Trial.

1. After these things were over, Bathyllus came under examination, in
order to convict Antipater, who proved the concluding attestation to
Antipater's designs; for indeed he was no other than his freed-man. This
man came, and brought another deadly potion, the poison of asps, and
the juices of other serpents, that if the first potion did not do the
business, Pheroras and his wife might be armed with this also to destroy
the king. He brought also an addition to Antipater's insolent attempt
against his father, which was the letters which he wrote against his
brethren, Archelaus and Philip, which were the king's sons, and educated
at Rome, being yet youths, but of generous dispositions. Antipater set
himself to get rid of these as soon as he could, that they might not be
prejudicial to his hopes; and to that end he forged letters against them
in the name of his friends at Rome. Some of these he corrupted by bribes
to write how they grossly reproached their father, and did openly bewail
Alexander and Aristobulus, and were uneasy at their being recalled; for
their father had already sent for them, which was the very thing that
troubled Antipater.

2. Nay, indeed, while Antipater was in Judea, and before he was upon
his journey to Rome, he gave money to have the like letters against them
sent from Rome, and then came to his father, who as yet had no suspicion
of him, and apologized for his brethren, and alleged on their behalf
that some of the things contained in those letters were false, and
others of them were only youthful errors. Yet at the same time that he
expended a great deal of his money, by making presents to such as wrote
against his brethren, did he aim to bring his accounts into confusion,
by buying costly garments, and carpets of various contextures, with
silver and gold cups, and a great many more curious things, that so,
among the view great expenses laid out upon such furniture, he might
conceal the money he had used in hiring men [to write the letters];
for he brought in an account of his expenses, amounting to two hundred
talents, his main pretense for which was file law-suit he had been in
with Sylleus. So while all his rogueries, even those of a lesser sort
also, were covered by his greater villainy, while all the examinations
by torture proclaimed his attempt to murder his father, and the letters
proclaimed his second attempt to murder his brethren; yet did n