ties belonging to his own government
were ruined, and utterly destroyed that whereas, when he took the
kingdom, it was in an extraordinary flourishing condition, he had filled
the nation with the utmost degree of poverty; and when, upon unjust
pretenses, he had slain any of the nobility, he took away their estates;
and when he permitted any of them to live, he condemned them to the
forfeiture of what they possessed. And besides the annual impositions
which he laid upon every one of them, they were to make liberal presents
to himself, to his domestics and friends, and to such of his slaves as
were vouchsafed the favor of being his tax-gatherers, because there was
no way of obtaining a freedom from unjust violence without giving either
gold or silver for it. That they would say nothing of the corruption of
the chastity of their virgins, and the reproach laid on their wives
for incontinency, and those things acted after an insolent and inhuman
manner; because it was not a smaller pleasure to the sufferers to have
such things concealed, than it would have been not to have suffered
them. That Herod had put such abuses upon them as a wild beast would not
have put on them, if he had power given him to rule over us; and
that although their nation had passed through many subversions and
alterations of government, their history gave no account of any calamity
they had ever been under, that could be compared with this which Herod
had brought upon their nation; that it was for this reason that they
thought they might justly and gladly salute Archelaus as king, upon this
supposition, that whosoever should be set over their kingdom, he would
appear more mild to them than Herod had been; and that they had joined
with him in the mourning for his father, in order to gratify him, and
were ready to oblige him in other points also, if they could meet with
any degree of moderation from him; but that he seemed to be afraid lest
he should not be deemed Herod's own son; and so, without any delay, he
immediately let the nation understand his meaning, and this before
his dominion was well established, since the power of disposing of
it belonged to Caesar, who could either give it to him or not, as
he pleased. That he had given a specimen of his future virtue to his
subjects, and with what kind of moderation and good administration he
would govern them, by that his first action, which concerned them, his
own citizens, and God himself also, when he