CHAPTER V.
It was on the sabbath-day that the intelligence of the fall of Jotapata, and the massacre of the garrison and inhabitants, reached Jerusalem; and the dreadful news brought grief and consternation into the city. Their chief warrior, on whom they depended as the leader of their armies, was reported to have fallen; their choicest troops were slain; and one of the strongest of the Galilean fortresses destroyed. But though the dejection and sorrow were general, yet in some families it was more profound and heartfelt, for they had lost a son, a brother, or a husband among the Jewish troops. In Zadok's house the sound of mourning and woe was heard, for it was believed that Javan was slain. He had joined the army of Josephus, and was known to be present at the siege of Jotapata; and as all the garrison as well as the inhabitants were reported to be massacred, his parents, his sister, and the faithful old Deborah wept and lamented for him as dead, with all the vehemence, and the deep demonstrations of grief, that were always exhibited by the ancient Jews, and still distinguish the inhabitants of the East in all cases of severe affliction. Javan's faults were now forgotten, and it was only remembered that he was a son and a brother; and even Claudia, who had never loved him, was filled with sorrow at the thought of his untimely and cruel death. Zadok sought in vain to console his weeping family; while his own heart was torn with grief for his lost son, and saddened at the unhappy prospects of his ill fated country.
But while he was absorbed in gloomy thoughts, the trumpets of the temple sounded long and loud, and reminded him that it was the hour for the evening sacrifice, and that he must lay aside all worldly feelings, and go forth to minister in the Lord's house. It was his turn that day to officiate at the altar in the order of his course; and no private business or private sorrow must be allowed to interfere with his holy office. He therefore performed the necessary ablutions and purifications, and assumed his priestly robes. The trumpets sounded again, and he set forth towards the temple; and ere he had ascended the broad flight of steps that led to the outer court, the third and last summons pealed forth, and echoed from the hills around, to call the inhabitants and the throngs of priests and Levites to worship in that glorious house of God. The cheerfulness and peace which usually marked the weekly festival of the Jewish sabbath, had been interrupted and clouded that day by the news from Jotapata; and the crowds of rich and poor, old and young, master and slave, who had met without the gates to enjoy the day of rest, and indulge, according to their custom, in social intercourse, had hurried into the city to listen to the gloomy tidings. The dismay and sorrow that had stricken so many families prevented the temple service from being so numerously attended as usual, and delayed the arrival of the congregation; so that Zadok entered the outer court (or court of the Gentiles), and found the spacious area nearly deserted. His spirit was sad, and he walked slowly through the pillared cloisters that surrounded the court, and led to the stately dwellings of the priests and ministering officers of the temple. Beneath the alabaster porticoes and colonnades were the seats where the elders and sages passed much of their time in instructing the people, but they were now unoccupied. He passed on to the inner or holy temple, and looked with melancholy pride and admiration on the marble walls, the gold and silver gates, the ornaments of clustering grapes, and pomegranates of glittering gold and brass, the cedar roofs, and splendid hangings of purple and scarlet, and the altars of rich incense that filled the air with the most exquisite perfumes, and his naturally sanguine spirit was depressed. Even he felt that the power of the Romans was becoming irresistible, and that ere long, flushed with their Galilean victories, they would appear before the walls of Jerusalem. With their divided and ill-governed troops, how could the Jews hope to resist their countless and well-disciplined forces? and should they once more gain access into the holy and beloved city, urged on by revenge and fury, where would their ravages cease? and what would be the fate of the sacred building in which he stood? Its beauty and its sanctity might fail to preserve it from the destroying hands of the idolaters, though every son of Israel were to shed his blood in its defence.
Zadok strove to shake off these dismal forebodings, so unusual to his heroic and exalted character; for, relying on the arm of Jehovah, and believing the Jews to be his only and peculiar people, he seldom admitted a thought that any serious calamity would be permitted to fall on them. He approached the altar of sacrifice, now surrounded by the gathering crowd, and took from the hands of the attending Levites the appointed victims, two being always prepared for the sabbath offering. He slew them, and presented them before the Lord with all the accustomed forms; and while the smoke of the altar ascended in a cloud of the richest incense, he looked forward in faith to that Messiah, of whom he knew these sacrifices were but the type, and whom he believed in his blindness had not yet appeared on the earth to take away sin, and redeem his people. But though Zadok was in error, yet his piety was sincere and fervent, and his soul was comforted by the sacred service and the holy worship; so that he returned to his house with a more cheerful countenance.
But sorrow and dismay had taken possession of the city, and for thirty days the voice of wailing was heard in Jerusalem. Almost every family was called to mourn some private calamity, in the loss of their friends and relations who had fallen at Jotapata; while all united in deploring the death of Josephus as a heavy national affliction; and musicians were hired to perform funeral chants to his memory. The chiefs and elders met in frequent council, to devise what measures should be adopted for checking the further progress of the Romans: but their assemblies were generally broken up in wrath and violence, for among the contending parties who exercised power and tyranny in the unhappy city, none could be found to unite cordially for the general good; and nothing effectual was determined on. Zadok attended several of these councils, and endeavoured by his manly good sense and acute judgment, to lead the conflicting chiefs to lay aside their private quarrels, and join heart and hand for the common defence of their country; but his voice was unheeded, and jealousy and passion reigned supreme. So violent were some of the parties on one occasion, that at length he departed from the scene of tumult, and hastened to his home, where yet he could enjoy domestic peace and tranquillity.
Naomi met him as he entered the vestibule, and he was astonished at seeing her lovely face radiant with smiles of joy. She knelt before him with the graceful veneration which was always expected from the children of the ancient Israelites towards their parents when demanding their blessing, on their return from the temple, or on any other solemn occasion; and her father fondly laid his hands on her glossy and raven hair, and pronounced the customary benediction, "God make thee as Sarah, and Rebecca, and Rachel, and Leah;" thus using the words of the patriarch Jacob, but substituting the names of those favoured women of Ephraim and Manasseh, as the blessing was addressed to a female. Naomi then sprang up, and threw herself into the arms of her father, exclaiming, "Javan is alive! my brother is safe! Oh let us praise the Lord for his goodness!"
She was quickly followed by Salome, who with tears of joy and gratitude presented to Zadok a letter from their friend Rufus, and informed him that a special messenger had arrived with the letter immediately after his departure for the temple. It was accompanied by one to Claudia, which had declared its contents, and given them the happy intelligence of Javan's preservation and safety; but they had waited impatiently for Zadok's return, to satisfy their curiosity as to all the particulars of his fate. Their joy was greatly clouded when they found that he was a prisoner in the Roman camp, though Rufus assured them that he was kindly treated, and that there was a hope of his being released if the Jews submitted, and any exchange of prisoners took place. But Zadok knew that of such an event there was not the slightest probability, as the Jews were resolved to resist the Roman power to the very uttermost; and his own national pride and desire for the independence of his people were so great, that even to procure the freedom of his son, he could not bring himself to hope for their submission. He did not however communicate these reflections to his wife and daughter; and he joined with them in their joy and gratitude that Javan's life was spared.
Rufus had hoped that his messenger would have reached Jerusalem before the sad tidings of the fall of Jotapata were known there, and that thus his friends would be spared the shock of believing that their son had fallen in the general massacre; but it had required some trouble and ingenuity to convey his letters into the hands of a trustworthy Jew, who would undertake to deliver them to Zadok, as of course none of his own Roman troops could go on such an errand; and ere all this could be arranged, the intelligence had flown to the capital. The packet contained also a letter from Marcellus to Claudia, which had been sent from Rome by a friend of his, who was ordered to join the camp with a reinforcement of troops, and Rufus had now forwarded it to his daughter. As we have heard but little of the proceedings of the young Roman, we will here give the substance of his letter:—
"It is a long time, my dearest Claudia, since I have found means of writing to you; and I now gladly avail myself of the departure of a body of soldiers to Galilee, one of whom is a valued friend of mine, and will safely convey my letter. When last I heard from you, you mentioned the probability of your going to our old friends at Jerusalem; and I rejoiced to think that you would again enjoy their society, and be in peace and safety under their happy roof. How few of their nation are so free from prejudice and superstition as to admit a Roman maiden into their house as a member of the family! Javan alone will make your residence there in any way irksome, for if he is not greatly changed, he will almost scorn to eat at the same table with a Gentile. But our dear Naomi and the kind gentle Salome will be to you is a sister and a mother, now that you are bereft of your own beloved parent; and Zadok is too generous and too high-minded to suffer you to be slighted while under his protection. Oh that I were with you, my sister! All the magnificence and gaiety of Rome do not compensate me for being so far removed from all whom I have loved from childhood; and I often think with regret of the happy hours I have passed with you and Naomi among the groves and gardens of Judea. I rejoice to say that my time of probation is almost over, and I shall soon be enrolled among the soldiers of Rome, and sent to join one of the legions now on duty abroad. Our uncle Sulpitius has much interest with the emperor, and he promises to get me appointed to the tenth legion, which is commanded by the noble Titus, and is now in Galilee, forming part of the great army with which Vespasian hopes ere long to quell the Jewish rebellion. I shall then be with my father, and also shall hope to see you, and possibly Naomi also, for the war cannot last much longer. The Jews must soon submit to the overwhelming power of Rome; and I trust they will do so before much more blood is shed, and before Vespasian leads his troops against Jerusalem itself, which is said here to be his intention. What would be my feelings, if as a Roman soldier I was forced to assist in the capture of the place where our dear Naomi and all her family dwell, and to fight against her father, and her brother! You, my sister, would of course be removed to some safe refuge; but I know that Zadok would remain to counsel and aid his countrymen; and Naomi's devoted spirit would never allow her to seek safety in any other spot, while her father, her mother, and her beloved city, were exposed to danger. Oh! that her valiant and patriotic people may yet be wise in time, and by a prudent submission avert the fearful calamities which may otherwise overtake them! Their further resistance will only exasperate the emperor and his generals yet more and more, and bring a heavier ruin on their heads. My heart is in Jerusalem; and while I glory in being a Roman, I feel that Jerusalem is still my home, and the place where I would wish to dwell. This is a glorious and magnificent city, even surpassing all my expectations. You, I think, must have quite forgotten the city where you were born, for even I had but a faint recollection of some of the chief streets; and everything seemed strange to me when I returned, except my uncle's house and his extensive garden, where we used to play in our childhood with our cousin Camillus. Whenever I enter this lonely spot I feel at home again; and such recollections rush to my mind of my dear mother, that I can hardly believe she is departed, and that I shall see her no more. May her spirit be blessed wherever it now dwells!
"You know that the house in which we lived in Rome has been destroyed, and a noble temple dedicated to Mercury new occupies the place where it stood. Doubtless you will suppose that thither I often bend my steps and pay my vows; but, Claudia, it is not so. I live in the capital of the gods of Rome; and wherever I turn I behold splendid fanes, and rich altars, and exquisite sculptures set up in honour of these countless deities; but I have ceased to bow my knee to any of them. Yet do not suppose, that like so many of my young countrymen, in discovering the fallacy and absurdity of the system in which I had been educated, I have cast off all belief, and become an infidel. No, I have learnt to worship the one true God of heaven and earth; and tell your friend Naomi that henceforth she must not think of Marcellus as a blind idolater, who bows down to images of wood and stone, but a sincere worshipper of Jehovah. And yet I do not declare myself a Jew, for many of the Jewish rites and ceremonies still seem to me but folly; and I have been instructed in many things that I would wish to communicate to you, but I dare not until we meet. Oh, Claudia, let a brother's entreaties and a brother's example induce you to embrace a better faith than that which now you hold. Listen to the words of Naomi, and she will tell you of the power, and wisdom, and love of our great Creator, who is far above all gods; and may He enlighten your mind to see in Him the true Deity, and lead you to despise those gods that are the work of men's hands, and have no power to do either good or evil.
"Through His mercy I became acquainted with an aged man, learned in the Scriptures and full of piety and holiness. His arguments have convinced me of the folly of idolatry, and the happiness of putting all our trust in the Almighty Jehovah. I beseech you to read those holy Scriptures with care and diligence, and by the blessing of God you will learn the truth; and then when I see you, my sister, I will impart to you what further knowledge I have received from my venerable friend. He has many scholars here, but he is hated and despised by the Romans, as the doctrines that he teaches, and the mode of life that he inculcates and follows, are in direct opposition to the absurd faith and luxurious lives of the people of this great but wicked city. Nero especially holds in abhorrence both the Jews and those who attend the teaching of my instructor. All his time is devoted to amusement or to cruelty; and on the Nazarenes, who are numerous in Rome, he wreaks his vengeance with an unsparing hand, whenever they are discovered and dragged before him. You will shudder when I tell you of the dreadful treatment which some of these unhappy people have met with lately.
"A party of them were discovered and accused before the emperor of being followers of Jesus of Nazareth; and they boldly avowed the charge, and declared their resolution to endure all things that could be inflicted on them, but never to deny the name of Jesus. The indignation of Nero was excited at their undaunted reply, and he determined to employ the severest cruelty, in order to force them to submit to his commands, and to bow down to an idol. But nothing could shake their firmness, and they were given over to death in its most hideous forms. Some of them were enclosed in the skins of beasts, and turned into the Circus, and torn to pieces by dogs. Others were crucified; and to increase their torments, they were insulted and mocked in their dying agonies. And worse than all, when the public games were performed in the emperor's own gardens, and the populace were admitted to see them, some of these miserable Christians were covered with wax and other combustibles, and fixed in different parts of the gardens, with a sharp stake placed under their chin to keep them upright, and in that situation they were set on fire, and burnt alive to serve as flambeaux to light the spectators! My blood boils while I describe these enormities, which doubtless will call down a judgment on those who perpetrated them, and on this guilty city; though many of the inhabitants were filled with pity and indignation at the eight of such sufferings, and would have endeavoured to obtain the pardon of the Nazarenes, had not the character of Nero and his violent and bloody temper deterred them from the attempt. Think not that I witnessed these executions. Camillus would have dragged me to the gardens, but I left him, and fled from the city in horror and disgust. I grieve to say that he witnessed and enjoyed the revolting spectacle; though his natural refinement of disposition would, I should have imagined, have deterred him, even if no feelings of humanity existed in his heart. Unhappily he is devoted to the worst species of philosophy; and disregards all religion and all care for the good of mankind, making his own individual enjoyment the sole object of his existence. He believes that when he dies his spirit will be totally annihilated, and that therefore it is the highest wisdom to seize on every enjoyment now within his grasp, and think not of the future. He passes much of his time in the schools of the Epicurean philosophers, whose doctrines he finds agreeable, and many of whom are certainly men of great abilities, and capable of giving useful instruction on every subject unconnected with religion. On my first arrival in Rome, I frequented their schools with Camillus, and the charm of their eloquence almost beguiled me into adopting their opinions; but, happily for me, my acquaintance with the old teacher whom I have mentioned already, occurred in time to save me from such pernicious doctrines.
"I also accompanied our cousin to the amphitheatres and other public exhibitions; but they soon wearied me, and the barbarity of the combats of the gladiators, and the cruel struggles of condemned criminals with wild beasts, shocked and disgusted me; and notwithstanding the ridicule of Camillus and his equally thoughtless companions, I have ceased to attend these spectacles. Indeed I usually seize the opportunity of my uncle and cousin being thus engaged, for repairing to the humble dwelling of my beloved teacher, where I listen to his words of truth and piety with untiring and increasing attention.
"In this luxurious city, the house of Sulpitius is remarkable for its simplicity and absence of all ornament. He prides himself on preserving the same frugality and modesty in his dwelling and establishment that so peculiarly distinguished the ancient Romans in the days of the Republic. He extends this simplicity to every part of his domestic life, and it is only when he takes his place as a senator that he assumes such robes as are suitable to his rank and wealth; on all other occasions his attire is plain, even to singularity, and forms a contrast to the splendid and expensive attire of Camillus, who is permitted to indulge all his tastes and fancies to the utmost, though so widely differing from those of his father. The increasing luxury and refinement of the Romans is a source of deep grief to Sulpitius: but he feels that it is in vain to attempt to check it, even in his own son; and with a few of his friends who still retain their virtue and simplicity of manners, he bewails the corruption of the times. The sumptuous golden palace of Nero excites his highest indignation, as an example of extravagance and lavish indulgence that will be pernicious to the whole nation. It is indeed a splendid edifice, and fitted up with gold and silver, and marble and precious stones, and Babylonian carpets, as if almost to vie with the temple at Jerusalem. But nothing has excited my admiration and wonder more than the aqueducts and the public roads, which I have seen in my excursions in the neighbourhood. The roads are carried in a direct line from the city, as a grand centre, to the towns around, and I hear that they extend through great part of the Roman dominions. All obstacles are made to give way; hills are levelled, and valleys filled up, and bold arches thrown over streams and rivers. The middle of the road is raised to a considerable height, with a mixture of sand and gravel united into a solid mass with a powerful and durable cement, and this terrace is then paved with large hewn stones, so well laid together that I imagine they must last as long as the world endures. There are houses established at every five or six miles' distance, which are constantly supplied with forty horses for the use of travellers, and on any urgent occasion the messengers of the emperor travel along these roads at a rate of a hundred miles a-day. All this is a fine effect of Roman power and civilization, and so is the extensive and lucrative commerce that is carried on with every country in the known world; but I blush for the corrupt tastes of my countrymen, when I see silk dresses purchased with an equal weight of gold, and immense sums of money squandered in the Asiatic merchants' shops, for pearls, and jewels, and aromatics, and hangings, and carpets from Tyre and Babylon, and the distant cities of Persia. The strongest mark of the decline of Roman manners is, I think, the ostentatious display which every citizen now makes of a multitude of household slaves. In one palace that I have visited with my uncle, no less than four hundred are to be found; and the wealth of a Roman is estimated by the number of slaves that he possesses. That is a melancholy species of wealth which consists in the persons of our fellow-creatures! Camillas says that they were born to serve the Romans; but I cannot believe that the great and merciful Creator designed one race of men to be subject to the cruelty and caprice of another, or that victory in war can entitle the conquerors to treat the vanquished like beasts of burden. A sad procession of captive Jews arrived here a few days ago, sent by Vespasian from one of the conquered cities of Galilee, and they were led to the public market and sold as slaves. Their manly and heroic countenances filled me with pity and with grief, and I was weak enough—as Camillus would have called it—to weep at the degradation of so many noble human beings; and particularly when I reflected that they were Naomi's fellow-countrymen, and that her own father and brother, yes, and even she herself, might one day be exposed to the same indignity and misery. Oh may the Lord avert so deep a calamity, and give the Jews a heart to see their danger and imprudence, and to retrace their steps, ere themselves and all most dear to them are plunged in ruin and in slavery! Farewell, my dear Claudia. Commend me with great affection and respect to Naomi, and greet her parents and her brother as my oldest friends. The blessing of heaven attend you all; and may God listen to the prayers that are daily offered up for you by your brother
"MARCELLUS."
This long letter from her beloved brother gave Claudia the greatest pleasure; and though she expressed much surprise at the entire change in his sentiments on religion, and the deep importance which he now seemed to attach to that subject, yet the change did not appear to give her any dissatisfaction, and from that time she listened with attention and complacency to all the arguments of Naomi, and even obeyed her brother's injunction to peruse the inspired writings of Moses and the prophets, of which her friend possessed a beautiful copy. The intelligence conveyed in the letter of Marcellus was to Naomi a source of unmixed joy and gratitude. That he who had so long possessed her esteem and affection should have forsaken the sin and folly of idolatry, and have learned to worship that one Supreme Being who was the object of her entire devotion, filled her with delight; and she felt that her attachment to him, against which she had so long struggled, was now no longer guilty. But a great change had taken place in her own opinions and feelings since her first interview with Mary on the Mount of Olives. All that she had heard from that aged disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ had sunk deep into her heart, and God had caused the word of truth spoken by his feeble servant to take root in the soul of the young Jewess. She could not banish the subject from her thoughts; and the natural energy and determination of her character led her to risk everything, in order to obtain information on a point which she felt to be one of eternal consequence.
She had therefore used all her influence with the kind-hearted, indulgent old Deborah; and had already induced her to accompany her more than once to the house of her Christian friend, and to leave her there to enjoy, for as long a time as it was safe to do so, the conversation that was at once so interesting and so delightful. Deborah was not informed that Mary was one of the detested sect of the Nazarenes, or even Naomi would have failed to persuade her to assist in these stolen interviews; but she knew that her religion differed from that of her young friend, and therefore she believed that she was of a different sect of Jews to that of which Zadok and his family were distinguished members, and that consequently Naomi's friendship for her would be disapproved of by her father; but she thought no great harm could come from these meetings, and promised that she would keep them secret.
Nothing would ever have induced the open-hearted affectionate Naomi to conceal any of her actions from her parents, but the certainty that, in this case, their knowledge of her object, and the change that was rapidly being effected in her sentiments, would only cause them profound grief and excite their severe displeasure, without in any way banishing from her mind the ardent desire and resolution to become acquainted with the doctrines of Christianity. She felt that her soul was at stake; and if all she heard from Mary was true, it was her duty even to forsake her father and mother, rather than deny and abandon that faith which was able to make her wise unto salvation. She could not conceal from herself that already she was almost persuaded to be a Christian; and the blessed hopes of life and immortality that were opened to her mind as the Gospel of Jesus Christ was gradually mads known to her, brought with them a satisfaction and joy such as she had never felt before, and such as she would not have resigned for any earthly consideration.
"Would Marcellus ever believe in the crucified Jesus of Nazareth?" was a thought that crossed her mind with force, while she rejoiced in the declaration which she had just heard in his letter to Claudia, of his being no longer an idolater;—"otherwise should we not be still divided by our faith, even as we have ever been?"—and her first act on finding herself alone, was to implore that the same grace that had already partially dispelled the blindness and unbelief of her own heart, might be granted to Marcellus, and lead him to a like faith. "When we meet," said she to herself, "I will repeat to him all that Mary has told me;—never will one word of her discourse pass from my memory;—or, if possible, I will lead him to her dwelling, and he shall hear the words of truth and wonder from her own lips. He has proved that his soul is open to conviction, by so quickly receiving the belief in one Almighty God; and doubtless he will as candidly and freely listen to the story of Jesus of Nazareth, and then surely he will see, and believe, and adore, as I feel myself constrained to do."
Had Naomi known all that Marcellus had not ventured to declare in his letter, how happy and how thankful would she have been!—for he had already advanced beyond herself in religious light and knowledge, and was a sincere, devoted, and enlightened Christian. The teacher to whom he owed his conversion was no other than Clement of Rome, the fellow-worker with St. Paul and, who, after having laboured in the church at Philippi, had removed to the capital, where in after times he succeeded to the bishopric, and lived until the third year of the reign of the Emperor Trajan.
Exterior of the Holy Sepulchre