with John but
his own citizens, and about fifteen hundred strangers that came from the
metropolis of Tyre; and when John saw that he had been outwitted by my
stratagem, he continued afterward in his own country, and was in great
fear of me.

67. But about this time it was that the people of Sepphoris grew
insolent, and took up arms, out of a confidence they had in the strength
of their walls, and because they saw me engaged in other affairs also.
So they sent to Cestius Gallus, who was president of Syria, and desired
that he would either come quickly to them, and take their city under his
protection, or send them a garrison. Accordingly, Gallus promised
them to come, but did not send word when he would come: and when I had
learned so much, I took the soldiers that were with me, and made an
assault upon the people of Sepphoris, and took the city by force. The
Galileans took this opportunity, as thinking they had now a proper time
for showing their hatred to them, since they bore ill-will to that city
also. They then exerted themselves, as if they would destroy them all
utterly, with those that sojourned there also. So they ran upon them,
and set their houses on fire, as finding them without inhabitants; for
the men, out of fear, ran together to the citadel. So the Galileans
carried off every thing, and omitted no kind of desolation which they
could bring upon their countrymen. When I saw this, I was exceedingly
troubled at it, and commanded them to leave off, and put them in
mind that it was not agreeable to piety to do such things to their
countrymen: but since they neither would hearken to what I exhorted, nor
to what I commanded them to do, [for the hatred they bore to the
people there was too hard for my exhortations to them,] I bade those
my friends, who were most faithful to me, and were about me, to give on
reports, as if the Romans were falling upon the other part of the city
with a great army; and this I did, that, by such a report being spread
abroad, I might restrain the violence of the Galileans, and preserve
the city of Sepphoris. And at length this stratagem had its effect; for,
upon hearing this report, they were in fear for themselves, and so they
left off plundering and ran away; and this more especially, because they
saw me, their general, do the same also; for, that I might cause this
report to be believed, I pretended to be in fear as well as they.
Thus were the inhabitants of Sepphoris unexpectedly