travagantly, and said that these children seemed
not derived from men, but from some god or other. His design in doing so
was to entice Antony into lewd pleasures with them, who was ashamed to
send for the damsel, as being the wife of Herod, and avoided it, because
of the reproaches he should have from Cleopatra on that account; but he
sent, in the most decent manner he could, for the young man; but added
this withal, unless he thought it hard upon him so to do. When this
letter was brought to Herod, he did not think it safe for him to send
one so handsome as was Aristobulus, in the prime of his life, for he was
sixteen years of age, and of so noble a family, and particularly not to
Antony, the principal man among the Romans, and one that would abuse
him in his amours, and besides, one that openly indulged himself in such
pleasures as his power allowed him without control. He therefore wrote
back to him, that if this boy should only go out of the country, all
would be in a state of war and uproar, because the Jews were in hopes of
a change in the government, and to have another king over them.

7. When Herod had thus excused himself to Antony, he resolved that
he would not entirely permit the child or Alexandra to be treated
dishonorably; but his wife Mariamne lay vehemently at him to restore the
high priesthood to her brother; and he judged it was for his advantage
so to do, because if he once had that dignity, he could not go out
of the country. So he called his friends together, and told them
that Alexandra privately conspired against his royal authority, and
endeavored, by the means of Cleopatra, so to bring it about, that he
might be deprived of the government, and that by Antony's means this
youth might have the management of public affairs in his stead; and
that this procedure of hers was unjust, since she would at the same
time deprive her daughter of the dignity she now had, and would bring
disturbances upon the kingdom, for which he had taken a great deal of
pains, and had gotten it with extraordinary hazards; that yet, while he
well remembered her wicked practices, he would not leave off doing
what was right himself, but would even now give the youth the high
priesthood; and that he formerly set up Ananelus, because Aristobulus
was then so very young a child. Now when he had said this, not at
random, but as he thought with the best discretion he had, in order
to deceive the women, and those friends whom he had