{"product_id":"2940015884128","title":"The Wars Of The Jews","description":"PREFACE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. [1] Whereas the war which the Jews made with the Romans hath been the\u003cbr\u003egreatest of all those, not only that have been in our times, but, in a\u003cbr\u003emanner, of those that ever were heard of; both of those wherein cities\u003cbr\u003ehave fought against cities, or nations against nations; while some men\u003cbr\u003ewho were not concerned in the affairs themselves have gotten together\u003cbr\u003evain and contradictory stories by hearsay, and have written them down\u003cbr\u003eafter a sophistical manner; and while those that were there present\u003cbr\u003ehave given false accounts of things, and this either out of a humor of\u003cbr\u003eflattery to the Romans, or of hatred towards the Jews; and while their\u003cbr\u003ewritings contain sometimes accusations, and sometimes encomiums, but no\u003cbr\u003ewhere the accurate truth of the facts; I have proposed to myself,\u003cbr\u003efor the sake of such as live under the government of the Romans, to\u003cbr\u003etranslate those books into the Greek tongue, which I formerly composed\u003cbr\u003ein the language of our country, and sent to the Upper Barbarians; [2]\u003cbr\u003eJoseph, the son of Matthias, by birth a Hebrew, a priest also, and one\u003cbr\u003ewho at first fought against the Romans myself, and was forced to be\u003cbr\u003epresent at what was done afterwards, [am the author of this work].\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e2. Now at the time when this great concussion of affairs happened, the\u003cbr\u003eaffairs of the Romans were themselves in great disorder. Those Jews also\u003cbr\u003ewho were for innovations, then arose when the times were disturbed; they\u003cbr\u003ewere also in a flourishing condition for strength and riches, insomuch\u003cbr\u003ethat the affairs of the East were then exceeding tumultuous, while some\u003cbr\u003ehoped for gain, and others were afraid of loss in such troubles; for the\u003cbr\u003eJews hoped that all of their nation which were beyond Euphrates would\u003cbr\u003ehave raised an insurrection together with them. The Gauls also, in the\u003cbr\u003eneighborhood of the Romans, were in motion, and the Geltin were\u003cbr\u003enot quiet; but all was in disorder after the death of Nero. And the\u003cbr\u003eopportunity now offered induced many to aim at the royal power; and the\u003cbr\u003esoldiery affected change, out of the hopes of getting money. I thought\u003cbr\u003eit therefore an absurd thing to see the truth falsified in affairs of\u003cbr\u003esuch great consequence, and to take no notice of it; but to suffer those\u003cbr\u003eGreeks and Romans that were not in the wars to be ignorant of these\u003cbr\u003ethings, and to read either flatteries or fictions, while the Parthians,\u003cbr\u003eand the Babylonians, and the remotest Arabians, and those of our nation\u003cbr\u003ebeyond Euphrates, with the Adiabeni, by my means, knew accurately both\u003cbr\u003ewhence the war begun, what miseries it brought upon us, and after what\u003cbr\u003emanner it ended.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e3. It is true, these writers have the confidence to call their accounts\u003cbr\u003ehistories; wherein yet they seem to me to fail of their own purpose,\u003cbr\u003eas well as to relate nothing that is sound. For they have a mind to\u003cbr\u003edemonstrate the greatness of the Romans, while they still diminish and\u003cbr\u003elessen the actions of the Jews, as not discerning how it cannot be that\u003cbr\u003ethose must appear to be great who have only conquered those that were\u003cbr\u003elittle. Nor are they ashamed to overlook the length of the war, the\u003cbr\u003emultitude of the Roman forces who so greatly suffered in it, or the\u003cbr\u003emight of the commanders, whose great labors about Jerusalem will be\u003cbr\u003edeemed inglorious, if what they achieved be reckoned but a small matter.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e4. However, I will not go to the other extreme, out of opposition to\u003cbr\u003ethose men who extol the Romans nor will I determine to raise the actions\u003cbr\u003eof my countrymen too high; but I will prosecute the actions of both\u003cbr\u003eparties with accuracy. Yet shall I suit my language to the passions I am\u003cbr\u003eunder, as to the affairs I describe, and must be allowed to indulge some\u003cbr\u003elamentations upon the miseries undergone by my own country. For that it\u003cbr\u003ewas a seditious temper of our own that destroyed it, and that they were\u003cbr\u003ethe tyrants among the Jews who brought the Roman power upon us, who\u003cbr\u003eunwillingly attacked us, and occasioned the burning of our holy temple,\u003cbr\u003eTitus Caesar, who destroyed it, is himself a witness, who, daring the\u003cbr\u003eentire war, pitied the people who were kept under by the seditious, and\u003cbr\u003edid often voluntarily delay the taking of the city, and allowed time to\u003cbr\u003ethe siege, in order to let the authors have opportunity for repentance.\u003cbr\u003eBut if any one makes an unjust accusation against us, when we speak so\u003cbr\u003epassionately about the tyrants, or the robbers, or sorely bewail the\u003cbr\u003emisfortunes of our country, let him indulge my affections herein, though\u003cbr\u003eit be contrary to the rules for writing history; because it had so\u003cbr\u003ecome to pass, that our city Jerusalem had arrived at a higher degree of\u003cbr\u003efelicity than any other city under the Roman government, and yet at last\u003cbr\u003efell into the sorest of calamities again.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47069766877424,"sku":"2940015884128","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940015884128","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}