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[402]
Now for the Romans, they expected that they should be fought in the
morning, when, accordingly, they put on their armor, and laid bridges of
planks upon their ladders from their banks, to make an assault upon the
fortress, which they did; but saw nobody as an enemy, but a terrible solitude
on every side, with a fire within the place, as well as a perfect silence.
So they were at a loss to guess at what had happened. At length they made
a shout, as if it had been at a blow given by the battering ram, to try
whether they could bring any one out that was within; the women heard this
noise, and came out of their under-ground cavern, and informed the Romans
what had been done, as it was done; and the second of them clearly described
all both what was said and what was done, and this manner of it; yet did
they not easily give their attention to such a desperate undertaking, and
did not believe it could be as they said; they also attempted to put the
fire out, and quickly cutting themselves a way through it, they came within
the palace, and so met with the multitude of the slain, but could take
no pleasure in the fact, though it were done to their enemies. Nor could
they do other than wonder at the courage of their resolution, and the immovable
contempt of death which so great a number of them had shown, when they
went through with such an action as that was.
1
1 THAT MANY OF THE SICARII FLED TO ALEXANDRIA ALSO AND WHAT DANGERS THEY WERE IN THERE; ON WHICH ACCOUNT THAT TEMPLE WHICH HAD FORMERLY BEEN BUILT BY ONIAS THE HIGH PRIEST WAS DESTROYED.
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