t loses. Thus, in the Maccabean period, historical works
dealing with the glorious struggle and its triumphant termination were
written by Jews both in Hebrew and in Greek. After the terrible
misfortune which befell the Jews in the year 70, when Jerusalem sank
before the Roman arms never to rise again, little heart was there for
writing history. Jews sought solace in their existing literature rather
than in new productions, and the Bible and the oral traditions that were
to crystallize a century later into the Mishnah filled the national
heart and mind. Yet more than one Jew felt an impulse to write the
history of the dismal time. Thus the first complete books which appeared
in Jewish literature after the loss of nationality were historical works
written by two men, Justus and Josephus, both of whom bore an active
part in the most recent of the wars which they recorded. Justus of
Tiberias wrote in Greek a terse chronicle entitled, "History of the
Jewish Kings," and also a more detailed narrative of the "Jewish War"
with Rome. Both these books are known to us only from quotations. The
originals are entirely lost. A happier fate has preserved the works of
another Jewish historian of the same period, Flavius Josephus (38 to 95
C.E.), the literary and political opponent of Justus. He wrote three
histories: "Antiquities of the Jews"; an "Autobiography"; "The Wars of
the Jews"; together with a reply to the attacks of an Alexandrian critic
of Judaism, "Against Apion." The character of Josephus has been
variously estimated. Some regard him as a patriot, who yielded to Rome
only when convinced that Jewish destiny required such submission. But
the most probable view of his career is as follows. Josephus was a man
of taste and learning. He was a student of the Greek and Latin classics,
which he much admired, and was also a devoted and loyal lover of
Judaism. Unfortunately, circumstances thrust him into a political
position from which he could extricate himself only by treachery and
duplicity. As a young man he had visited Rome, and there acquired
enthusiastic admiration for the Romans. When he returned to Palestine,
he found his countrymen filled with fiery patriotism and about to hurl
themselves against the legions of the Caesars. To his dismay Josephus
saw himself drawn into the patriotic vortex. By a strange mishap an
important command was entrusted to him. He betrayed his country, and
saved himself by eager submission to the Rom