silence made them grow to be many; and by
conniving at them when they took arms, in effect armed them
against yourselves? You ought to have then prevented their first
attempts, when they fell a reproaching your relations; but by
neglecting that care in time, you have encouraged these wretches
to plunder men. When houses were pillaged, nobody said a word,
which was the occasion why they carried off the owners of those
houses; and when they were drawn through the midst of the city,
nobody came to their assistance. They then proceeded to put those
whom you have betrayed into
their hands into bonds. I do not say how many and of what
characters those men were whom they thus served; but
certainly they were such as were accused by none, and
condemned by none; and since nobody succored them when
they were put into bonds, the consequence was, that you saw the
same persons slain. We have seen this also; so that still the
best of the herd of brute animals, as it were, have been still
led to be sacrificed, when yet nobody said one word, or moved his
right hand for their preservation. Will you bear, therefore, will
you bear to see your sanctuary trampled on? and will you lay
steps for these profane wretches, upon which they may mount to
higher degrees of insolence? Will not you pluck them down from
their exaltation? for even by this time they had proceeded to
higher enormities, if they had been able to overthrow any thing
greater than the sanctuary. They have seized upon the strongest
place of the whole city; you may call it the temple, if you
please, though it be like a citadel or fortress. Now, while you
have tyranny in so great a degree walled in, and see your enemies
over your heads, to what purpose is it to take counsel? and what
have you to support your minds withal? Perhaps you wait for the