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As he was thus disturbed and afflicted, in order to depress these
young men, he brought to court another of his sons, that was born to him
when he was a private man; his name was Antipater; yet did he not then
indulge him as he did afterwards, when he was quite overcome by him, and
let him do every thing as he pleased, but rather with a design of depressing
the insolence of the sons of Marianme, and managing this elevation of his
so, that it might be for a warning to them; for this bold behavior of theirs
[he thought] would not be so great, if they were once persuaded that the
succession to the kingdom did not appertain to them alone, or must of necessity
come to them. So he introduced Antipater as their antagonist, and imagined
that he made a good provision for discouraging their pride, and that after
this was done to the young men, there might be a proper season for expecting
these to be of a better disposition; but the event proved otherwise than
he intended, for the young men thought he did them a very great injury;
and as Antipater was a shrewd man, when he had once obtained this degree
of freedom, and began to expect greater things than he had before hoped
for, he had but one single design in his head, and that was to distress
his brethren, and not at all to yield to them the pre-eminence, but to
keep close to his father, who was already alienated from them by the calumnies
he had heard about them, and ready to be wrought upon in any way his zeal
against them should advise him to pursue, that he might be continually
more and more severe against them. Accordingly, all the reports that were
spread abroad came from him, while he avoided himself the suspicion as
if those discoveries proceeded from him; but he rather chose to make use
of those persons for his assistants that were unsuspected, and such as
might be believed to speak truth by reason of the good-will they bore to
the king; and indeed there were already not a few who cultivated a friendship
with Antipater, in hopes of gaining somewhat by him, and these were the
men who most of all persuaded Herod, because they appeared to speak thus
out of their good-will to him: and with these joint accusations, which
from various foundations supported one another's veracity, the young men
themselves afforded further occasions to Antipater also; for they were
observed to shed tears often, on account of the injury that was offered
them, and had their mother in their mouths; and among their friends they
ventured to reproach their father, as not acting justly by them; all which
things were with an evil intention reserved in memory by Antipater against
a proper opportunity; and when they were told to Herod, with aggravations,
increased the disorder so much, that it brought a great tumult into the
family; for while the king was very angry at imputations that were laid
upon the sons of Mariamne, and was desirous to humble them, he still increased
the honor that he had bestowed on Antipater, and was at last so overcome
by his persuasions, that he brought his mother to court also. He also wrote
frequently to Caesar in favor of him, and more earnestly recommended him
to his care particularly. And when Agrippa was returning to Rome, after
he had finished his ten years' government in Asia.
1
Herod sailed from Judea; and when he met with him, he had none with him
but Antipater, whom he delivered to Agrippa, that he might take him along
with him, together with many presents, that so he might become Caesar's
friend, insomuch that things already looked as if he had all his father's
favor, and that the young men were already entirely rejected from any hopes
of the kingdom.