*

ruin; and thereby showed, that he loved them better than he did himself, by the title of king of Cyprus, but in fact, the mean flave of his money. He returned to fhore, and replaced his gold in his magazines, after which he poisoned himself, and left the whole to his enemies. Cato carried those treasures the following year to Rome. The fum was fo large, that in the greatest triumphs the like had scarce been laid up in the public treasury. Plutarch makes it amount to almoft feven thousand talents (one million and fifty thousand pounds Sterling). Cato caufed all Ptolemy's precious effects and moveables to be fold publicly; referving only to himfelf a picture of Zeno, the founder of the Stoics, the fentiments of which fect he followed.

The Roman people here take off the mask, and show themselves not fuch as they had been in the glorious ages of the republic, full of contempt for riches, and efteem for poverty, but as they were become, after gold and filver had entered Rome in triumph with their victorious generals. Never was any thing more capable of difgracing and reproaching the Romans than this last action. 66 + The Roman people (fays Cicero) instead of "making it their honour, and almost a duty, as former"ly, to re-establish the kings their enemies, whom they "had conquered, upon their thrones, now fee a king, "their ally, or at least a constant friend to the republic, "who

*Procul dubio hic non poffedit divitias, fed a divitiis poffeffus eft, titulo rex infulæ, animo pecuniæ miferabile mancipium.

Ptolemæus, rex, fi nondum focius at non hoftis, pacatus, quietus, feretus imperio populi Rom. regno paterno atque avito regali otio perfruebatur. De hoc nihil cogitante, nihil fufpicante, eft rogatum, ut fedens cum purpura & fceptro & illis infignibus regiis, præconi publico fubjiceretur, & imperante populo Rom. qui etiam victis bello regibus regna reddere confuevit, rex amicus, nulla injuria commemorato, nullis repetitis rebus, cum bonis omnibus publicaretur-Cyprius mifer, qui femper focius, femper amicus, fuit; de quo nulla unquam fufpicio durior aut ad fenatum, aut ad imperatores noftros allata eft: vivus ut aiunt eft & videns, cum victu & veftitu fuo, publicatus. En cur cæ→ teri reges ftabilem effe fuam fortunam arbitrentur cum hoc illius funefti anni perdito exemplo videant, per tribunum aliquem fe fortunis fpoliari (poffe) & regno omni nudari. Cic. Orat. pro Sextio, n. 57.

" who had never done them any wrong, of whom nei"ther the fenate or any of our generals had ever the "leaft complaint, who enjoyed the dominions left him "by his ancestors in tranquillity, plundered on a fud"den without any formality, and all his effects fold by "auction almost before his eyes, by order of the fame "Roman people. This (continues Cicero) fhows other "kings, upon what they are to rely for their fecurity; "from this fatal example they learn, that amongst us, "there needs only the secret intrigue of some seditious "tribune, for depriving them of their thrones, and "plundering them at the fame time of all their for"tunes."

What I am most amazed at is, that Cato, the justest and most upright man of those times (but what was the moft shining virtue and juftice of the Pagans)? should lend his name and fervices in fo notorious an injustice.. Cicero, who had reasons for sparing him, and dared not. blame his conduct openly, fhows, however, in the fame discourse I have now cited, but in an artful and delicate manner, and by way of excufing him, how much he had dishonoured himself by that action.

During Cato's stay at Rhodes, Ptolemy Auletes, king of Egypt, and brother to him of Cyprus, came thither to him. I referve for the following book the history of that prince, which merits a particular attention..

BOOK

TH

HE twentieth book is divided into three articles, which are all abridgements: The first, of the history of the Jews, from the reigh of ARISTOBOLUS to that of HEROD the Great; the fecond, of the history of the Parthians, from the establishment of that empire, to the defeat of CRASSUS; the third, of the history of the kings of Cappadocia, to the annexing that kingdom to the Roman empire.

ARTICLE I.

Abridgement of the History of the Jews, from ARISTOBO LUS, fon of HYRCANUS, who first affumed the rank of King, to the reign of HEROD the Great, the Idumaan.

A

S the history of the Jews is often intermixed with that of the kings of Syria and Egypt, I have taken care, as occafion offered, to relate of it what was most neceffary and suitable to my subject. I fhall add here what remains of that hiftory to the reign of Herod the Great. The hiftorian Jofephus, who is in every one's hands, will fatisfy the curiofity of fuch as are defirous of being more fully informed in it. Dean Prideaux, whom I have used here, may be alfo confulted to the fame effect.

SECT

SECT. I. Reign of ARISTOBULUS the First, which lafted

(a)

H

two years.

YRCANUS, high-prieft and prince of the Jews, had left five fons at his death. The first was Ariftobulus, the fecond Antigonus, the third Alexander Jannæus, the fourth's name is unkown. The fifth was called Abfalom.

Ariftobulus, as the eldeft, fucceeded his father in the high-priesthood and temporal fovereignty. As foon as he faw himself well established, he affumed the diadem and title of king, which none of those who had governed Judea, from the Babylonish captivity, had done befides himfelf. The conjuncture feemed favourable for that design. The kings of Syria and Egypt, who were alone capable of oppofing it, were weak princes, involved in domestic troubles, and civil wars, little fecure upon the throne, and not maintaining themselves long in the poffeffion of it. He knew the Romans were much inclined to authorife the difmembering and dividing the dominions of the Grecian kings, in order to weaken and keep them low in comparison with themselves. Befides, it was natural for Ariftobulus to take the advantage of the victories and acquifitions made by his ancestors, who had given an asfured and uninterrupted establishment to the Jewish nation, and enabled it to fupport the dignity of a king amongst its neighbours.

Ariftobulus's mother, in virtue of Hyrcanus's will, pretended to the government; but Ariftobulus was the ftrongeft, and put her in prifon, where he caufed her to be ftarved to death. For his brothers, as he very much loved Antigonus the eldest of them, he gave him at firft a fhare in the government; but, fome fmall time after, upon a falfe accufation, put him to death. He confined the other three in a prison during his life.

When

(a) A. M. 3898. Ant. J. C. 106. Jofeph. Antiq. 1. xiii. 19, &c. Id. de bell, Jud. i. 3.

(b) When Ariftobulus had fully poffeffed himself of the authority his father had enjoyed, he entered into a war with the Ituræans, and after having fubjected the greatest part of them, he obliged them to embrace Judaism, as Hyrcanus had the Idumæans fome years before. He gave them the alternative, either to be circumcifed and profefs the Jewish religion, or to quit their country and feek a fettlement elsewhere. They chose to ftay, and comply with what was required of them, and were incorporated with the Jews, both as to fpirituals and temporals. This practice became a fundamental maxim with the Afmoneans. It fhows, that they had not a juft idea of religion at that time, which does not impose itself by force, and which ought not to be received but voluntarily and by perfuafion. Ituræa, inhabited by the people in queftion, was a part of Coelofyria, on the north-eaft frontier of Ifrael, between the inheritance of the half tribe of Manaffeh on the other fide of the Jordan, and the territory of Damafcus.

A diftemper obliged Ariftobulus to return from Ituræa to Jerufalem, and to leave the command of the army to his brother Antigonus, to make an end of the war he had begun. The queen and her cabal, who envied Antigonus the king's favour, took the advantage of this illnefs, to alienate the king against him by falfe reports and vile calumnies. Antigonus foon returned to Jerufalem after the fucceffes by which he had terminated the war. His entry was a kind of triumph. The feast of the tabernacles was then celebrating. He went directly to the temple with his guards, completely armed as he had entered the city, without giving himself time to change any part of his equipage. This was made a crime with the king; who, otherwife prejudiced against him fent him orders to disarm himself, and come to him as foon as poffible; conceiving, if he refufed to obey, it was a proof of fome bad defign; and in that cafe he gave or ders that he should be killed. The perfon fent by Ariftobulus,

(b) A. M. 3898. Ant. J. C. 106. bel. Jud. i. 3.

Jofeph. Antiq. xiii. 19. Id. de