another, and threw darts continually on both sides; and sometimes
it happened that they made incursions by troops, and fought it
out hand to hand, while the seditious were superior in boldness,
but the king's soldiers in skill. These last strove chiefly to
gain the temple, and to drive those out of it who profaned it; as
did the seditious, with Eleazar, besides what they had already,
labor to gain the upper city. Thus were there perpetual
slaughters on both sides for seven days' time; but neither side
would yield up the parts they had seized on.

6. Now the next day was the festival of Xylophory; upon which the
custom was for every one to bring wood for the altar (that there
might never be a want of fuel for that fire which was
unquenchable and always burning). Upon that day they excluded the
opposite party from the observation of this part of religion. And
when they had joined to themselves many of the Sicarii, who
crowded in among the weaker people, (that was the name for such
robbers as had under their bosoms swords called Sicae,) they grew
bolder, and carried their undertaking further; insomuch that the
king's soldiers were overpowered by their multitude and boldness;
and so they gave way, and were driven out of the upper city by
force. The others then set fire to the house of Ananias the high
priest, and to the palaces of Agrippa and Bernice; after which
they carried the fire to the place where the archives were
reposited, and made haste to burn the contracts belonging to
their creditors, and thereby to dissolve their obligations for
paying their debts; and this was done in order to gain the
multitude of those who had been debtors, and that they might
persuade the poorer sort to join in their insurrection with
safety against the more wealthy; so the keepers of the records