in; but as for Herod, he went in haste against the robbers that were
in the caves, and sent Silo away to Ventidius, while he marched against
them. These caves were in mountains that were exceeding abrupt, and in
their middle were no other than precipices, with certain entrances into
the caves, and those caves were encompassed with sharp rocks, and in
these did the robbers lie concealed, with all their families about them;
but the king caused certain chests to be made, in order to destroy them,
and to be hung down, bound about with iron chains, by an engine, from
the top of the mountain, it being not possible to get up to them, by
reason of the sharp ascent of the mountains, nor to creep down to them
from above. Now these chests were filled with armed men, who had long
hooks in their hands, by which they might pull out such as resisted
them, and then tumble them down, and kill them by so doing; but the
letting the chests down proved to be a matter of great danger, because
of the vast depth they were to be let down, although they had their
provisions in the chests themselves. But when the chests were let down,
and not one of those in the mouths of the caves durst come near them,
but lay still out of fear, some of the armed men girt on their armor,
and by both their hands took hold of the chain by which the chests were
let down, and went into the mouths of the caves, because they fretted
that such delay was made by the robbers not daring to come out of the
caves; and when they were at any of those mouths, they first killed many
of those that were in the mouths with their darts, and afterwards pulled
those to them that resisted them with their hooks, and tumbled them
down the precipices, and afterwards went into the caves, and killed many
more, and then went into their chests again, and lay still there; but,
upon this, terror seized the rest, when they heard the lamentations that
were made, and they despaired of escaping. However, when the night came
on, that put an end to the whole work; and as the king proclaimed pardon
by a herald to such as delivered themselves up to him, many accepted of
the offer. The same method of assault was made use of the next day; and
they went further, and got out in baskets to fight them, and fought them
at their doors, and sent fire among them, and set their caves on fire,
for there was a great deal of combustible matter within them. Now there
was one old man who was caught within one of these