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[121]
Nicolaus added further what belonged to Antipater's mother, and whatsoever
she had prattled like a woman; as also about the predictions and the sacrifices
relating to the king; and whatsoever Antipater had done lasciviously in
his cups and his amours among Pheroras's women; the examination upon torture;
and whatsoever concerned the testimonies of the witnesses, which were many,
and of various kinds; some prepared beforehand, and others were sudden
answers, which further declared and confirmed the foregoing evidence. For
those men who were not acquainted with Antipater's practices, but had concealed
them out of fear, when they saw that he was exposed to the accusations
of the former witnesses, and that his great good fortune, which had supported
him hitherto, had now evidently betrayed him into the hands of his enemies,
who were now insatiable in their hatred to him, told all they knew of him.
And his ruin was now hastened, not so much by the enmity of those that
were his accusers, as by his gross, and impudent, and wicked contrivances,
and by his ill-will to his father and his brethren; while he had filled
their house with disturbance, and caused them to murder one another; and
was neither fair in his hatred, nor kind in his friendship, but just so
far as served his own turn. Now there were a great number who for a long
time beforehand had seen all this, and especially such as were naturally
disposed to judge of matters by the rules of virtue, because they were
used to determine about affairs without passion, but had been restrained
from making any open complaints before; these, upon the leave now given
them, produced all that they knew before the public. The demonstrations
also of these wicked facts could no way be disproved, because the many
witnesses there were did neither speak out of favor to Herod, nor were
they obliged to keep what they had to say silent, out of suspicion of any
danger they were in; but they spake what they knew, because they thought
such actions very wicked, and that Antipater deserved the greatest punishment;
and indeed not so much for Herod's safety, as on account of the man's own
wickedness. Many things were also said, and those by a great number of
persons, who were no way obliged to say them, insomuch that Antipater,
who used generally to be very shrewd in his lies and impudence, was not
able to say one word to the contrary. When Nicolaus had left off speaking,
and had produced the evidence, Varus bid Antipater to betake himself to
the making his defense, if he had prepared any thing whereby it might appear
that he was not guilty of the crimes he was accused of; for that, as he
was himself desirous, so did he know that his father was in like manner
desirous also, to have him found entirely innocent. But Antipater fell
down on his face, and appealed to God and to all men for testimonials of
his innocency, desiring that God would declare, by some evident signals,
that he had not laid any plot against his father. This being the usual
method of all men destitute of virtue, that when they set about any wicked
undertakings, they fall to work according to their own inclinations, as
if they believed that God was unconcerned in human affairs; but when once
they are found out, and are in danger of undergoing the punishment due
to their crimes, they endeavor to overthrow all the evidence against them
by appealing to God; which was the very thing which Antipater now did;
for whereas he had done everything as if there were no God in the world,
when he was on all sides distressed by justice, and when he had no other
advantage to expect from any legal proofs, by which he might disprove the
accusations laid against him, he impudently abused the majesty of God,
and ascribed it to his power that he had been preserved hitherto; and produced
before them all what difficulties he had ever undergone in his bold acting
for his father's preservation.
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