alled his soldiers from the place, and by despairing
of any expectation of taking it, without having received any disgrace,
he retired from the city, without any reason in the world. But when the
robbers perceived this unexpected retreat of his, they resumed their
courage, and ran after the hinder parts of his army, and destroyed a
considerable number of both their horsemen and footmen; and now Cestius
lay all night at the camp which was at Scopus; and as he went off
farther next day, he thereby invited the enemy to follow him, who still
fell upon the hindmost, and destroyed them; they also fell upon the
flank on each side of the army, and threw darts upon them obliquely,
nor durst those that were hindmost turn back upon those who wounded them
behind, as imagining that the multitude of those that pursued them was
immense; nor did they venture to drive away those that pressed upon them
on each side, because they were heavy with their arms, and were afraid
of breaking their ranks to pieces, and because they saw the Jews were
light, and ready for making incursions upon them. And this was the
reason why the Romans suffered greatly, without being able to revenge
themselves upon their enemies; so they were galled all the way, and
their ranks were put into disorder, and those that were thus put out of
their ranks were slain; among whom were Priscus, the commander of the
sixth legion, and Longinus, the tribune, and Emilius Secundus, the
commander of a troop of horsemen. So it was not without difficulty that
they got to Gabao, their former camp, and that not without the loss of
a great part of their baggage. There it was that Cestius staid two
days, and was in great distress to know what he should do in these
circumstances; but when on the third day he saw a still much greater
number of enemies, and all the parts round about him full of Jews, he
understood that his delay was to his own detriment, and that if he staid
any longer there, he should have still more enemies upon him.

8. That therefore he might fly the faster, he gave orders to cast away
what might hinder his army's march; so they killed the mules and other
creatures, excepting those that carried their darts and machines, which
they retained for their own use, and this principally because they were
afraid lest the Jews should seize upon them. He then made his army march
on as far as Bethoron. Now the Jews did not so much press upon them when
they were in large open pla