Chapter 7.
CONCERNING SILAS AND ON WHAT ACCOUNT IT WAS THAT KING AGRIPPA
WAS ANGRY AT HIM. HOW AGRIPPA BEGAN TO ENCOMPASS JERUSALEM WITH A WALL;
AND WHAT BENEFITS HE BESTOWED ON THE INHABITANTS OF BERYTUS.FJAJ 19.56
1. NOW Silas, the general of the king's horse, because he had been faithful
to him under all his misfortunes, and had never refused to be a partaker
with him in any of his dangers, but had oftentimes undergone the most hazardous
dangers for him, was full of assurance, and thought he might expect a sort
of equality with the king, on account of the firmness of the friendship
he had showed to him
Accordingly, he would no where let the king sit as
his superior, and took the like liberty in speaking to him upon all occasions,
till he became troublesome to the king, when they were merry together,
extolling himself beyond measure, and oft putting the king in mind of the
severity of fortune he had undergone, that he might, by way of ostentation,
demonstrate What zeal he had showed in his service; and was continually
harping upon this string, what pains he had taken for him, and much enlarged
still upon that subject
The repetition of this so frequently seemed to
reproach the king, insomuch that he took this ungovernable liberty of talking
very ill at his hands
For the commemoration of times when men have been
under ignominy, is by no means agreeable to them; and he is a very silly
man who is perpetually relating to a person what kindness he had done him.
At last, therefore, Silas had so thoroughly provoked the king's indignation,
that he acted rather out of passion than good consideration, and did not
only turn Silas out of his place, as general of his horse, but sent him
in bonds into his own country
But the edge of his anger wore off by length
of time, and made room for more just reasonings as to his judgment about
this man; and he considered how many labors he had undergone for his sake.
So when Agrippa was solemnizing his birth-day, and he gave festival entertainments
to all his subjects, he sent for Silas on the sudden to be his guest
But
as he was a very frank man, he thought he had now a just handle given him
to be angry; which he could not conceal from those that came for him, but
said to them, "What honor is this the king invites me to, which I
conclude will soon be over? For the king hath not let me keep those original
marks of the good-will I bore him, which I once had from him; but he hath
plundered me, and that unjustly also
Does he think that I can leave off
that liberty of speech, which, upon the consciousness of my deserts, I
shall use more loudly than before, and shall relate how many misfortunes
I have been delivered from; how many labors I have undergone for him, whereby
I procured him deliverance and respect; as a reward for which I have borne
the hardships of bonds and a dark prison? I shall never forget this usage.
Nay, perhaps, my very soul, when it is departed out of the body, will not
forget the glorious actions I did on his account." This was the clamor
he made, and he ordered the messengers to tell it to the king
So he perceived
that Silas was incurable in his folly, and still suffered him to lie in
prison.FJAJ 19.57
2. As for the walls of Jerusalem, that were adjoining to the new city
[Bezetha], he repaired them at the expense of the public, and built them
wider in breadth, and higher in altitude; and he had made them too strong
for all human power to demolish, unless Marcus, the then president of Syria,
had by letter informed Claudius Caesar of what he was doing
And when Claudius
had some suspicion of attempts for innovation, he sent to Agrippa to leave
off the building of those walls presently
So he obeyed, as not thinking
it proper to contradict Claudius.FJAJ 19.58
3. Now this king was by nature very beneficent and liberal in his gifts,
and very ambitious to oblige people with such large donations; and he made
himself very illustrious by the many chargeable presents he made them.
He took delight in giving, and rejoiced in living with good reputation.
He was not at all like that Herod who reigned before him; for that Herod
was ill-natured, and severe in his punishments, and had no mercy on them
that he hated; and every one perceived that he was more friendly to the
Greeks than to the Jews; for he adorned foreign cities with large presents
in money; with building them baths and theatres besides; nay, in some of
those places he erected temples, and porticoes in others; but he did not
vouchsafe to raise one of the least edifices in any Jewish city, or make
them any donation that was worth mentioning
But Agrippa's temper was mild,
and equally liberal to all men
He was humane to foreigners, and made them
sensible of his liberality
He was in like manner rather of a gentle and
compassionate temper
Accordingly, he loved to live continually at Jerusalem,
and was exactly careful in the observance of the laws of his country
He
therefore kept himself entirely pure; nor did any day pass over his head
without its appointed sacrifice.FJAJ 19.59
4. However, there was a certain mall of the Jewish nation at Jerusalem,
who appeared to be very accurate in the knowledge of the law
His name
was Simon
This man got together an assembly, while the king was absent
at Cesarea, and had the insolence to accuse him as not living holily, and
that he might justly be excluded out of the temple, since it belonged only
to native Jews
But the general of Agrippa's army informed him that Simon
had made such a speech to the people
So the king sent for him; and as
he was sitting in the theater, he bid him sit down by him, and said to
him with a low and gentle voice, "What is there done in this place
that is contrary to the law?" But he had nothing to say for himself,
but begged his pardon
So the king was more easily reconciled to him than
one could have imagined, as esteeming mildness a better quality in a king
than anger, and knowing that moderation is more becoming in great men than
passion
So he made Simon a small present, and dismissed him.FJAJ 19.60
5. Now as Agrippa was a great builder in many places, he paid a peculiar
regard to the people of Berytus; for he erected a theater for them, superior
to many others of that sort, both in Sumptuousness and elegance, as also
an amphitheater, built at vast expenses; and besides these, he built them
baths and porticoes, and spared for no costs in any of his edifices, to
render them both handsome and large
He also spent a great deal upon their
dedication, and exhibited shows upon them, and brought thither musicians
of all sorts, and such as made the most delightful music of the greatest
variety
He also showed his magnificence upon the theater, in his great
number of gladiators; and there it was that he exhibited the several antagonists,
in order to please the spectators; no fewer indeed than seven hundred men
to fight with seven hundred other men (21)
A strange number of condemned criminals to be under the sentence of death
at once; no fewer, it seems, than one thousand four hundred!
and allotted all the malefactors he had for this exercise, that both the
malefactors might receive their punishment, and that this operation of
war might be a recreation in peace
And thus were these criminals all destroyed
at once.FJAJ 19.61