ps, which attest to the antiquity of that fable. But
the north wind opposes and beats upon the shore, and dashes mighty
waves against the rocks which receive them, and renders the haven more
dangerous than the country they had deserted. Now as those people of
Joppa were floating about in this sea, in the morning there fell a
violent wind upon them; it is called by those that sail there "the
black north wind," and there dashed their ships one against another,
and dashed some of them against the rocks, and carried many of them by
force, while they strove against the opposite waves, into the main sea;
for the shore was so rocky, and had so many of the enemy upon it, that
they were afraid to come to land; nay, the waves rose so very high, that
they drowned them; nor was there any place whither they could fly, nor
any way to save themselves; while they were thrust out of the sea, by
the violence of the wind, if they staid where they were, and out of the
city by the violence of the Romans. And much lamentation there was when
the ships were dashed against one another, and a terrible noise when
they were broken to pieces; and some of the multitude that were in
them were covered with waves, and so perished, and a great many were
embarrassed with shipwrecks. But some of them thought that to die
by their own swords was lighter than by the sea, and so they killed
themselves before they were drowned; although the greatest part of them
were carried by the waves, and dashed to pieces against the abrupt
parts of the rocks, insomuch that the sea was bloody a long way, and the
maritime parts were full of dead bodies; for the Romans came upon those
that were carried to the shore, and destroyed them; and the number of
the bodies that were thus thrown out of the sea was four thousand and
two hundred. The Romans also took the city without opposition, and
utterly demolished it.
4. And thus was Joppa taken twice by the Romans in a little time; but
Vespasian, in order to prevent these pirates from coming thither any
more, erected a camp there, where the citadel of Joppa had been, and
left a body of horse in it, with a few footmen, that these last might
stay there and guard the camp, and the horsemen might spoil the country
that lay round it, and might destroy the neighboring villages and
smaller cities. So these troops overran the country, as they were
ordered to do, and every day cut to pieces and laid desolate the whole
region.
5. But now
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