The siege lasted six months. The city was entirely demolished. A million of Jews perished by the sword, pestilence, and famine. A hundred thousand who were taken captive were sold into slavery. All Judæa was thus brought again into submission to Rome. Titus, laden with the spoils of the city, and accompanied by his long train of captives, returned in triumph to Rome. He was received with universal acclaim. The signal victory he had achieved strengthened the throne of his father. In commemoration of the event, a triumphal arch was erected,—the Arch of Titus. This massive structure, reared eighteen hundred years ago, remains almost perfect to the present day. It still attracts the thoughtful gaze of every tourist in Rome.
Vespasian proved one of the best of the Roman emperors. With great energy and wisdom, he devoted himself to the welfare of his wide-spread realms. It was during his reignthat the world-renowned Coliseum, was reared,—the most gigantic amphitheatre in the world. It furnished seats for eighty thousand spectators, and standing-room for twenty thousand more.It was in the arena of this vast edifice that subsequently so many Christians, with a hundred thousand spectators gazing mockingly upon them, endured the pangs and won the crown of martyrdom.
But under Vespasian there was no persecution. Indeed, it is probable, that he, residing so long in Judæa, had, like Felix, become somewhat acquainted with Christian doctrines; and, like Agrippa, he may have been almost persuaded to become a Christian. The teachings of Jesus exert an ennobling influence far beyond the bounds of the organized church; and it is certain that Vespasian exhibited a character of humanity, of purity, of interest in the public welfare, very different from that which was developed by most of the Roman emperors. Still there is no evidence that he became an acknowledged disciple of Jesus. It is said that he died on the 24th of June, A.D. 79, after a prosperous reign of ten years.
Feeling himself to be dangerously ill, he remarked to those around him, derisively, in view of what he knew would be the action of the senate in voting his deification, “I perceive that I am about to become a god.” As his end drew near, he said, with pride which he could not have learned from the religion of Jesus, “An emperor should die standing.” Aided by his friends, he rose from his couch, and, while sustained by their arms, expired.
We are confirmed in our view, that the Emperor Vespasian must have been brought in some degree under the influence of Christian doctrine, from the marvellous change, resembling true conversion, which suddenly took place in the character of his son Titus, who succeeded his father on the throne.
In early years, this young man was exceedingly dissipated; but to the surprise of every one, and without any known cause which history has transmitted to us, he abandoned all the vicious practices of his youth, separated himself from all his dissolute companions, and commenced a life of integrity, ofpurity and benevolence, which was certainly such as the religion of Jesus enjoined. With devotion hitherto unexampled, he consecrated himself to the welfare of his realm, and to promoting the happiness of those around him. One of his remarks, illustrative of his character, has survived the lapse of eighteen centuries. It will continue to live in the hearts of men so long as earth shall endure. At the close of a day in which no opportunity had occurred of doing good, he exclaimed sadly, “Perdidi diem,”—“I have lost a day.” This truly Christian sentiment is beautifully versified in the words,—
“Count that day lost whose low-descending sun
Views at thy hand no worthy action done.”
It was during the reign of Titus, in A.D. 79, that the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii—as corrupt in all conceivable abominations as Sodom and Gomorrah could possibly have been—were buried beneath the lava and ashes of Vesuvius. They were discovered early in the last century. The remains of these cities, so wonderfully preserved, and now being brought to light, reveal much of the habits and social customs of those days.
We know not that Titus was a Christian. The light is very dim which comes down to us through these long centuries. But it is certain, that, in very many things, he manifested the spirit of Christ. The reign of this good man was short. Titus had a brother Domitian, an utterly depraved young man. He was to Titus as Cain to Abel. Anxious to grasp the sceptre, it is said that he poisoned his brother Titus when he had attained the forty-first year of his age and the second of his reign. The wretched Domitian ascended the throne. It is certain that he had heard of Jesus, of Christianity. The guilty are always suspicious. Knowing that the Christians regarded Jesus as their King, that they were looking for his second coming to reign as their Lord and Master, he regarded Jesus as a formidable rival. Apprehensive that there might be some heirs of Jesus around whom the Christians might rally, he arrested a large number of the disciples,and had them brought before him for examination. Anxiously he inquired of them what money they had in their treasury, what territory they possessed, and when and where the reign of Jesus would commence. The disciples assured him that they had neither lands nor money. In proof, they showed him their hands, indurated by toil. They assured him that the kingdom of Jesus was to be, not an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly and angelic; and that his reign would not commence until the end of the world, when Jesus would appear in clouds of glory.