ting fire to all the other works; and this till Vespasian made his
army leave off fighting them, and resolved to lie round the city, and
to starve them into a surrender, as supposing that either they would
be forced to petition him for mercy by want of provisions, or if they
should have the courage to hold out till the last, they should perish
by famine: and he concluded he should conquer them the more easily in
fighting, if he gave them an interval, and then fell upon them when they
were weakened by famine; but still he gave orders that they should guard
against their coming out of the city.

12. Now the besieged had plenty of corn within the city, and indeed of
all necessaries, but they wanted water, because there was no fountain in
the city, the people being there usually satisfied with rain water; yet
is it a rare thing in that country to have rain in summer, and at
this season, during the siege, they were in great distress for some
contrivance to satisfy their thirst; and they were very sad at this time
particularly, as if they were already in want of water entirely, for
Josephus seeing that the city abounded with other necessaries, and that
the men were of good courage, and being desirous to protract the siege
to the Romans longer than they expected, ordered their drink to be given
them by measure; but this scanty distribution of water by measure was
deemed by them as a thing more hard upon them than the want of it;
and their not being able to drink as much as they would made them more
desirous of drinking than they otherwise had been; nay, they were as
much disheartened hereby as if they were come to the last degree of
thirst. Nor were the Romans unacquainted with the state they were in,
for when they stood over against them, beyond the wall, they could see
them running together, and taking their water by measure, which made
them throw their javelins thither the place being within their reach,
and kill a great many of them.

13. Hereupon Vespasian hoped that their receptacles of water would in
no long time be emptied, and that they would be forced to deliver up
the city to him; but Josephus being minded to break such his hope, gave
command that they should wet a great many of their clothes, and hang
them out about the battlements, till the entire wall was of a sudden all
wet with the running down of the water. At this sight the Romans were
discouraged, and under consternation, when they saw them able to throw
aw