When  the  faction  observed  that  the  fugitives
were  no  longer  to  be  seen  from  the  city,  they
circulated  a  rumour  that  the  Romans  had  put
them  to  death.     For  some  time,  this  stratagem
had  the  desired  effect,  by  deterring  other  Jews
from  following  the  example  of  the  deserters:  but
being  apprized  of  the  design  w  ith  w  hicii  the  re-
port had  been  propagated,  Titus  recalled  the  de-
serters from  Gophne,  and  ordered  them  to  make
the  tour  of  the  walls,  attended  by  Josephus.  The
calumny  being  thus  refuted,  a  still  greater  num-
ber of  the  people  were  induced  to  revolt  to  tiie
Romans.     Being   assembled    on   this   occasion
within  sight  of  the  Romans,  with  tears  and  la-
mentations they  supplicated  the  faction  to  pre-
serve their  country  by  admitting  the   Romans
into  the  town ;  or,  at  least,  to  depart  from  the
temple,  rather  than  provoke  the  enemy  to  destroy
it  by  fire,  to  which  extremity  they  would  not
proceed,  unless  aggravated  to  adopt  the  measure
by  an  inconsiderate  perseverance  in  a  fruitless
opposition.    This  conduct  served  but  to  inflame
the  faction  to  a  more  extravagant  degree  of  out-
rage :  and  having  planted  machines  even  at  the
gates  of  the  temple,  they  assailed  the  deserters
with  darts,  arrows,  stones  discharged  from  slings,
and  other  missive  weapons  ;  so  that  the  sacred
building  had  a  greater  resemblance  to  a  place  of
war  and  slaughter  than  a  house  dedicated  to  the


worship  of  God;  and  the  bodies  of  the  deceased
lay  in  such  numbers  in  the  space  of  ground  be-
fore the  temple,  as  to  give  it  the  appearance  of  a
ceinetry.  They  forcibly  entered  the  holy  sanc-
tuary, their  hands  yet  reeking  with  the  blood  of
the  murdered  citizens,  and  were  guilty  of  the
most  horrid  impieties.
