§16.2.38πέφυκε γὰρ οὕτω καὶ κοινόν ἐστι τοῦτο καὶ τοῖς Ἕλλησι καὶ τοῖς βαρβάροις.
For this is natural and is common to both the Greeks and the barbarians.
πολιτικοὶ γὰρ ὄντες ἀπὸ προστάγματος κοινοῦ ζῶσιν· ἄλλως γὰρ οὐχ οἷόν τε τοὺς πολλοὺς ἕν τι καὶ ταὐτὸ ποιεῖν ἡρμοσμένως ἀλλήλοις, ὅπερ ἦν τὸ πολιτεύεσθαι, καὶ ἄλλως πως νέμειν βίον κοινόν.
For being political beings, they live by a common decree; for otherwise it is impossible for the multitude to do one and the same thing in harmony with one another, which is what constituting a state means, and otherwise to share a common life.
τὸ δὲ πρόσταγμα διττόν, ἢ γὰρ παρὰ θεῶν ἢ παρὰ ἀνθρώπων· καὶ οἵ γε ἀρχαῖοι τὸ παρὰ τῶν θεῶν ἐπρέσβευον μᾶλλον καὶ ἐσέμνυνον, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ χρηστηριαζόμενος ἦν τότε πολὺς καὶ τρέχων εἰς μὲν Δωδώνην, ὅπως
ἐκ δρυὸς ὑψικόμοιο Διὸς βουλὴν ἐπακούσῃ,
συμβούλῳ τῷ Διὶ χρώμενος, εἰς δὲ Δελφούς
τὸν ἐκτεθέντα παῖδα μαστεύων μαθεῖν, εἰ μηκέτʼ εἴη,
αὐτὸς δʼ ὁ παῖς
ἔστειχε τοὺς τεκόντας ἐκμαθεῖν θέλων πρὸς δῶμα Φοίβου. καὶ ὁ Μίνως παρὰ τοῖς Κρησὶν
ἐννέωρος βασίλευε Διὸς μεγάλου ὀαριστής,
διʼ ἐννέα ἐτῶν, ὥς φησι Πλάτων, ἀναβαίνων ἐπὶ τὸ ἄντρον τοῦ Διὸς καὶ παρʼ ἐκείνου τὰ προστάγματα λαμβάνων καὶ παρακομίζων εἰς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους.
And the decree is twofold, for it is either from gods or from men; and the ancients, at least, respected and revered more that which came from the gods, and for this reason those who consulted oracles were numerous at that time, running on the one hand to Dodona, so that "from the high-foliaged oak he might hear the will of Zeus," employing Zeus as an adviser, and on the other hand to Delphi, "seeking to learn of the exposed child, whether he was no more," while the child himself "journeyed to the house of Phoebus, wishing to find out his parents." And Minos among the Cretans "ruled for nine years, a companion of great Zeus," ascending every nine years, as Plato says, to the cave of Zeus, receiving decrees from him, and bringing them to the people.
τὰ δʼ ὅμοια ἐποίει καὶ Λυκοῦργος ὁ ζηλωτὴς αὐτοῦ· πυκνὰ γάρ, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἀποδημῶν ἐπυνθάνετο παρὰ τῆς Πυθίας ἃ προσῆκεν παραγγέλλειν τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις.
And Lycurgus, his imitator, did similar things; for, as it seems, by frequently traveling abroad, he inquired of the Pythia what he ought to command the Lacedaemonians.
§16.2.39ταῦτα γὰρ ὅπως ποτὲ ἀληθείας ἔχει, παρά γε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐπεπίστευτο καὶ ἐνενόμιστο, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ οἱ μάντεις ἐτιμῶντο ὥστε καὶ βασιλείας ἀξιοῦσθαι, ὡς τὰ παρὰ τῶν θεῶν ἡμῖν ἐκφέροντες παραγγέλματα καὶ ἐπανορθώματα καὶ ζῶντες καὶ ἀποθανόντες·
For however these things may stand in respect of truth, they were at least believed and established among men; and for this reason even prophets were so honored as to be deemed worthy of kingship, as bringing out to us commands and corrections from the gods, both while living and after they died.
τοιοῦτος δὲ ὁ Ἀμφιάρεως καὶ ὁ Τροφώνιος καὶ Ὀρφεὺς καὶ ὁ Μουσαῖος καὶ ὁ παρὰ τοῖς Γέταις θεός, τὸ μὲν παλαιὸν Ζάμολξις Πυθαγόρειός τις, καθʼ ἡμᾶς δὲ ὁ τῷ Βυρεβίστᾳ θεσπίζων Δεκαίνεος· παρὰ δὲ τοῖς Βοσπορηνοῖς Ἀχαΐκαρος, παρὰ δὲ τοῖς Ἰνδοῖς οἱ γυμνοσοφισταί, παρὰ δὲ τοῖς Πέρσαις οἱ μάγοι καὶ νεκυομάντεις καὶ ἔτι οἱ λεγόμενοι λεκανομάντεις καὶ ὑδρομάντεις, παρὰ δὲ τοῖς Ἀσσυρίοις οἱ Χαλδαῖοι, παρὰ δὲ τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις οἱ Τυρρηνικοὶ οἰωνοσκόποι.
Such was Amphiaraus, and Trophonius, and Orpheus, and Musaeus, and the god among the Getae, in ancient times Zalmoxis, a certain Pythagorean, and in our time Decaeneus, who gave oracles to Burebista; and among the Bosporani, Achaicarus; and among the Indians, the Gymnosophists; and among the Persians, the Magi and necromancers, and also those called lecanomancers and hydromancers; and among the Assyrians, the Chaldaeans; and among the Romans, the Tyrrhenian augurs.
τοιοῦτος δέ τις ἦν καὶ ὁ Μωσῆς καὶ οἱ διαδεξάμενοι ἐκεῖνον, τὰς μὲν ἀρχὰς λαβόντες οὐ φαύλας ἐκτραπόμενοι δʼ ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον.
Such a person also was Moses and his successors, who, though they took beginnings that were not bad, turned aside to the worse.
§16.2.40ἤδη δʼ οὖν φανερῶς τυραννουμένης τῆς Ἰουδαίας πρῶτος ἀνθʼ ἱερέως ἀνέδειξεν ἑαυτὸν βασιλέα Ἀλέξανδρος· τούτου δʼ ἦσαν υἱοὶ Ὑρκανός τε καὶ Ἀριστόβουλος· διαφερομένων δὲ περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς, ἐπῆλθε Πομπήιος καὶ κατέλυσεν αὐτοὺς καὶ τὰ ἐρύματα αὐτῶν κατέσπασε καὶ αὐτὰ ἐν πρώτοις τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα βίᾳ καταλαβών· ἦν γὰρ πετρῶδες καὶ εὐερκὲς ἔρυμα, ἐντὸς μὲν εὔυδρον ἐκτὸς δὲ παντελῶς διψηρόν, τάφρον λατομητὴν ἔχον βάθος μὲν ἑξήκοντα ποδῶν, πλάτος δὲ πεντήκοντα καὶ διακοσίων· ἐκ δὲ τοῦ λίθου τοῦ λατομηθέντος ἐπεπύργωτο τὸ τεῖχος τοῦ ἱεροῦ.
At any rate, when Judaea was now openly ruled by tyrants, Alexander was the first to declare himself king instead of priest; and his sons were Hyrcanus and Aristobulus; but as they were at variance about the sovereignty, Pompey came upon them, deposed them, and tore down their strongholds, having taken Jerusalem itself first by force; for it was a rocky and well-fortified stronghold, well-watered within but utterly dry outside, having a quarried trench sixty feet deep and two hundred and fifty feet wide; and from the stone which had been quarried, the wall of the temple was built up with towers.
κατελάβετο δʼ, ὥς φασι, τηρήσας τὴν τῆς νηστείας ἡμέραν, ἡνίκα ἀπείχοντο οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι παντὸς ἔργου, πληρώσας τὴν τάφρον καὶ ἐπιβαλὼν τὰς διαβάθρας· κατασπάσαι δʼ οὖν ἐκέλευσε τὰ τείχη πάντα καὶ ἀνεῖλεν εἰς δύναμιν τὰ λῃστήρια καὶ τὰ γαζοφυλάκια τῶν τυράννων.
And he captured it, as they say, by watching for the day of fasting, when the Jews abstained from all work, having filled up the trench and thrown up the scaling-ladders; at all events, he ordered all the walls to be torn down, and destroyed as far as possible the robber-bands and the treasuries of the tyrants.
ἦν δὲ δύο μὲν τὰ ταῖς εἰσβολαῖς ἐπικείμενα τοῦ Ἱερικοῦντος Θρήξ τε καὶ Ταῦρος, ἄλλα δὲ Ἀλεξάνδριόν τε καὶ Ὑρκάνιον καὶ Μαχαιροῦς καὶ Λυσιὰς καὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν Φιλαδέλφειαν καὶ ἡ περὶ Γαλιλαίαν Σκυθόπολις.
Now there were two which commanded the passes of Jericho, Threx and Taurus, and others were Alexandrium, Hyrcanium, Machaerus, Lysias, and those around Philadelphia, and Scythopolis near Galilee.
§16.2.41̔ιερικοῦς δʼ ἐστὶ πεδίον κύκλῳ περιεχόμενον ὀρεινῇ τινι καί που καὶ θεατροειδῶς πρὸς αὐτὸ κεκλιμένῃ· ἐνταῦθα δʼ ἐστὶν ὁ φοινικών, μεμιγμένην ἔχων καὶ ἄλλην ὕλην ἥμερον καὶ εὔκαρπον, πλεονάζων δὲ τῷ φοίνικι, ἐπὶ μῆκος σταδίων ἑκατόν, διάρρυτος ἅπας καὶ μεστὸς κατοικιῶν· ἔστι δʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ βασίλειον καὶ ὁ τοῦ βαλσάμου παράδεισος· ἔστι δὲ τὸ φυτὸν θαμνῶδες, κυτίσῳ ἐοικὸς καὶ τερμίνθῳ, ἀρωματίζον· οὗ τὸν φλοιὸν ἐπισχίσαντες ὑπολαμβάνουσιν ἀγγείοις τὸν ὀπὸν γλίσχρῳ γάλακτι παραπλήσιον· ἀναληφθεὶς δʼ εἰς κογχάρια λαμβάνει πῆξιν· λύει δὲ κεφαλαλγίας θαυμαστῶς καὶ ὑποχύσεις ἀρχομένας καὶ ἀμβλυωπίας· τίμιος οὖν ἐστι καὶ διότι ἐνταῦθα μόνον γεννᾶται· καὶ ὁ φοινικὼν δὲ τοιοῦτος, ἔχων τὸν καρυωτὸν φοίνικα ἐνταῦθα μόνον, πλὴν τοῦ Βαβυλωνίου καὶ τοῦ ἐπέκεινα πρὸς τὴν ἕω·
Jericho is a plain surrounded by a mountainous country which, in a way, slopes down towards it like a theater; here is the palm grove, which contains also other cultivated and fruitful trees mixed with it, but abounds in the palm tree, extending for a length of one hundred stadia, all well-watered and full of dwellings; and in it is both a royal palace and the balsam garden; and the plant is a shrub, resembling cytisus and terebinth, and is aromatic; they make incisions in its bark and catch in vessels the juice, which is very like sticky milk; and when it is gathered into small shells, it solidifies; and it cures headaches wonderfully, and incipient cataracts, and dimness of sight; it is therefore highly valued, both because of this and because it is produced here alone; and the palm grove also is of this kind, having the caryotic palm tree here alone, except for the Babylonian one and that beyond towards the east; great, therefore, is the revenue from them.
μεγάλη οὖν ἀπʼ αὐτῶν ἡ πρόσοδος. καὶ τῷ ξυλοβαλσάμῳ δὲ ὡς ἀρώματι χρῶνται.
And they use also the wood of the balsam tree as an aromatic.