besieged by these sallies of the Jews, and when his banks were
now not far from the walls, he determined to make use of his
battering ram. This battering ram is a vast beam of wood like the
mast of a ship, its forepart is armed with a thick piece of iron
at the head of it, which is so carved as to be like the head of a
ram, whence its name is taken. This ram is slung in the air by
ropes passing over its middle, and is hung like the balance in a
pair of scales from another beam, and braced by strong beams that
pass on both sides of it, in the nature of a cross. When this ram
is pulled backward by a great number of men with united force,
and then thrust forward by the same men, with a mighty noise, it
batters the walls with that iron part which is prominent. Nor is
there any tower so strong, or walls so broad, that can resist any
more than its first batteries, but all are forced to yield to it
at last. This was the experiment which the Roman general betook
himself to, when he was eagerly bent upon taking the city; but
found lying in the field so long to be to his disadvantage,
because the Jews would never let him be quiet. So these Romans
brought the several engines for galling an enemy nearer to the
walls, that they might reach such as were upon the wall, and
endeavored to frustrate their attempts; these threw stones and
javelins at them; in the like manner did the archers and slingers
come both together closer to the wall. This brought matters to
such a pass that none of the Jews durst mount the walls, and then
it was that the other Romans brought the battering ram that was
cased with hurdles all over, and in the tipper part was secured
by skins that covered it, and this both for the security of
themselves and of the engine. Now, at the very first stroke of
this engine, the wall was shaken, and a terrible clamor was
raised by the people within the city, as if they were already