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[254]
To these accusations Herod gave credit, and enjoyed hereby, in his
miserable case, some sort of consolation, in excuse of his rashness, as
fiattering himself with finding things in so bad a condition; but as for
the poisonous potion, which he labored to find, he could find none. As
for Alexander, he was very desirous to aggravate the vast misfortunes he
was under, so he pretended not to deny the accusations, but punished the
rashness of his father with a greater crime of his own; and perhaps he
was willing to make his father ashamed of his easy belief of such calumnies:
he aimed especially, if he could gain belief to his story, to plague him
and his whole kingdom; for he wrote four letters, and sent them to him,
that he did not need to torture any more persons, for he had plotted against
him; and that he had for his partners Pheroras and the most faithful of
his friends; and that Salome came in to him by night, and that she lay
with him whether he would or not; and that all men were come to be of one
mind, to make away with him as soon as they could, and so get clear of
the continual fear they were in from him. Among these were accused Ptolemy
and Sapinnius, who were the most faithful friends to the king. And what
more can be said, but that those who before were the most intimate friends,
were become wild beasts to one another, as if a certain madness had fallen
upon them, while there was no room for defense or refutation, in order
to the discovery of the truth, but all were at random doomed to destruction;
so that some lamented those that were in prison, some those that were put
to death, and others lamented that they were in expectation of the same
miseries; and a melancholy solitude rendered the kingdom deformed, and
quite the reverse to that happy state it was formerly in. Herod's own life
also was entirely disturbed; and because he could trust nobody, he was
sorely punished by the expectation of further misery; for he often fancied
in his imagination that his son had fallen upon him, or stood by him with
a sword in his hand; and thus was his mind night and day intent upon this
thing, and revolved it over and over, no otherwise than if he were under
a distraction. And this was the sad condition Herod was now in.
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