count of his avarice. However, the Romans
ventured to make a sally out of the place, and a terrible battle ensued;
wherein, though it is true the Romans beat their adversaries, yet were
not the Jews daunted in their resolutions, even when they had the sight
of that terrible slaughter that was made of them; but they went round
about, and got upon those cloisters which encompassed the outer court
of the temple, where a great fight was still continued, and they cast
stones at the Romans, partly with their hands, and partly with slings,
as being much used to those exercises. All the archers also in array
did the Romans a great deal of mischief, because they used their hands
dexterously from a place superior to the others, and because the others
were at an utter loss what to do; for when they tried to shoot their
arrows against the Jews upwards, these arrows could not reach them,
insomuch that the Jews were easily too hard for their enemies. And this
sort of fight lasted a great while, till at last the Romans, who were
greatly distressed by what was done, set fire to the cloisters so
privately, that those that were gotten upon them did not perceive it.
This fire [15] being fed by a great deal of combustible matter, caught
hold immediately on the roof of the cloisters; so the wood, which was
full of pitch and wax, and whose gold was laid on it with wax, yielded
to the flame presently, and those vast works, which were of the highest
value and esteem, were destroyed utterly, while those that were on the
roof unexpectedly perished at the same time; for as the roof tumbled
down, some of these men tumbled down with it, and others of them were
killed by their enemies who encompassed them. There was a great number
more, who, out of despair of saving their lives, and out of astonishment
at the misery that surrounded them, did either cast themselves into the
fire, or threw themselves upon their swords, and so got out of their
misery. But as to those that retired behind the same way by which they
ascended, and thereby escaped, they were all killed by the Romans, as
being unarmed men, and their courage failing them; their wild fury
being now not able to help them, because they were destitute of armor,
insomuch that of those that went up to the top of the roof, not one
escaped. The Romans also rushed through the fire, where it gave them
room so to do, and seized on that treasure where the sacred money was
reposited; a great part of which w