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[305]
In these circumstances he considered with himself how to procure
some seasonable help; but this was a hard thing to be done, while their
neighbors had no food to sell them; and their money also was gone, had
it been possible to purchase a little food at a great price. However, he
thought it his best way, by all means, not to leave off his endeavors to
assist his people; so he cut off the rich furniture that was in his palace,
both of silver and gold, insomuch that he did not spare the finest vessels
he had, or those that were made with the most elaborate skill of the artificers,
but sent the money to Petronius, who had been made prefect of Egypt by
Caesar; and as not a few had already fled to him under their necessities,
and as he was particularly a friend to Herod, and desirous to have his
subjects preserved, he gave leave to them in the first place to export
corn, and assisted them every way, both in purchasing and exporting the
same; so that he was the principal, if not the only person, who afforded
them what help they had. And Herod taking care the people should understand
that this help came from himself, did thereby not only remove the ill opinion
of those that formerly hated him, but gave them the greatest demonstration
possible of his good-will to them, and care of them; for, in the first
place, as for those who were able to provide their own food, he distributed
to them their proportion of corn in the exactest manner; but for those
many that were not able, either by reason of their old age, or any other
infirmity, to provide food for themselves, he made this provision for them,
the bakers should make their bread ready for them. He also took care that
they might not be hurt by the dangers of winter, since they were in great
want of clothing also, by reason of the utter destruction and consumption
of their sheep and goats, till they had no wool to make use of, nor any
thing else to cover themselves withal. And when he had procured these things
for his own subjects, he went further, in order to provide necessaries
for their neighbors, and gave seed to the Syrians, which thing turned greatly
to his own advantage also, this charitable assistance being afforded most
seasonably to their fruitful soil, so that every one had now a plentiful
provision of food. Upon the whole, when the harvest of the land was approaching,
he sent no fewer than fifty thousand men, whom he had sustained, into the
country; by which means he both repaired the afflicted condition of his
own kingdom with great generosity and diligence, and lightened the afflictions
of his neighbors, who were under the same calamities; for there was nobody
who had been in want that was left destitute of a suitable assistance by
him; nay, further, there were neither any people, nor any cities, nor any
private men, who were to make provision for the multitudes, and on that
account were in want of support, and had recourse to him, but received
what they stood in need of, insomuch that it appeared, upon a computation,
that the number of cori of wheat, of ten attic medimni apiece, that were
given to foreigners, amounted to ten thousand, and the number that was
given in his own kingdom was about fourscore thousand. Now it happened
that this care of his, and this seasonable benefaction, had such influence
on the Jews, and was so cried up among other nations, as to wipe off that
old hatred which his violation of some of their customs, during his reign,
had procured him among all the nation, and that this liberality of his
assistance in this their greatest necessity was full satisfaction for all
that he had done of that nature, as it also procured him great fame among
foreigners; and it looked as if these calamities that afflicted his land,
to a degree plainly incredible, came in order to raise his glory, and to
be to his great advantage; for the greatness of his liberality in these
distresses, which he now demonstrated beyond all expectation, did so change
the disposition of the multitude towards him, that they were ready to suppose
he had been from the beginning not such a one as they had found him to
be by experience, but such a one as the care he had taken of them in supplying
their necessities proved him now to be.
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