both thy other behavior in life, and that thou wast the occasion
of thy country's revolt from the Romans; plain signs of which I
shall produce presently. I have also a mind to say a few things
to the rest of the people of Tiberias on thy account, and to
demonstrate to those that light upon this history, that you bare
no good-will, neither to the Romans, nor to the king. To be sure,
the greatest cities of Galilee, O Justus! were Sepphoris, and thy
country Tiberias. But Sepphoris, situated in the very midst of
Galilee, and having many villages about it, and able with ease to
have been bold and troublesome to the Romans, if they had so
pleased, yet did it resolve to continue faithful to those their
masters, and at the same time excluded me out of their city, and
prohibited all their citizens from joining with the Jews in the
war; and, that they might be out of danger from me, they, by a
wile, got leave of me to fortify their city with walls: they
also, of their own accord, admitted of a garrison of Roman
legions, sent them by Cestlus Gallus, who was then president of
Syria, and so had me in contempt, though I was then very
powerful, and all were greatly afraid of me; and at the same time
that the greatest of our cities, Jerusalem, was besieged, and
that temple of ours, which belonged to us all, was in danger of
falling under the enemy's power, they sent no assistance thither,
as not willing to have it thought they would bear arms against
the Romans. But as for thy country, O Justus: situated upon the
lake of Gennesareth, and distance from Hippos thirty furlongs,
from Gadara sixty, and from Scythopolis, which was under the
king's jurisdiction, a hundred and twenty; when there was no
Jewish city near, it might easily have preserved its fidelity [to
the Romans,] if it had so pleased them to do, for the city and
its people had plenty of weapons. But, as thou sayest, I was then