Page:Selections. Translated by H. St. J. Thackeray (1919).djvu/115

 not be allowed to offer sacrifice even for themselves, and that their city would be placed outside the pale of the empire, unless, with a speedy return to discretion, they restored the sacrifices and made amends for the insult before the report reached the ears of those whom they had insulted.

In the course of this speech they brought forward the priestly experts on the national customs, who explained how all their ancestors had accepted the sacrifices of aliens.

But not one of the revolutionary party would listen to their words, which met with no better response even from the officiating ministers, who thus helped to sow the seeds of war.[1] Thereupon, the leading men, perceiving that it was now beyond their power to suppress the insurrection and that they would be the first to suffer from the Roman peril, took steps to exonerate themselves from blame. They accordingly despatched two deputations, one to Florus, headed by Simon son of Ananias, and another to Agrippa, of which the most eminent members were the king's relatives, Saul, Antipas and Costobar. They besought them both to come up to the city with an armed force and to nip the rebellion in the bud before repression became impossible. To Florus the news was a wonderful godsend, and, determined as he was to fan the flame of war, he gave the emissaries no reply. Agrippa, on the other hand, was solicitous alike for the rebels and for the nation against which their hostilities were directed; he was anxious that the Romans should not lose the Jews nor the Jews their Temple and mother city; and was, moreover, aware that the disturbance would not conduce to, "chimed in" (with Naber; MSS [Greek: prosiesan] or [Greek: prosêesan]) and [Greek: leitourgoi] (other MSS [Greek: lêstrikoi], "the brigands").]before [Greek: deinon]) "the dire news was a godsend."]