supposition that I had more armed men about me than they had,
immediately fled.

I dealt in like manner with Clitus, a young man of Tiberias, who was the
author of a fresh sedition in that city. Since I thought it not
agreeable to piety to put one of my own people to death, I called to
Clitus himself, and said to him, "Since thou deservest to lose both thy
hands for thine ingratitude to me, be thou thine own executioner, lest
by refusal to do so thou undergo a worse punishment."

When he earnestly begged me to spare one of his hands, it was with
difficulty that I granted it. So, in order to prevent the loss of both
his hands, he willingly took his sword and cut off his own left hand;
and this put an end to the sedition.


_IV.--The Failure of His Foes_


The people of Gamala wrote to me, asking that I would send them an armed
force, and also workmen to raise up the walls of their city, and I
acceded to each of their requests. I also built walls about many
villages and cities in Upper and Lower Galilee, besides laying up in
them much corn. But the hatred of John of Gischala grew more violent by
reason of my prosperity. He sent his brother Simon to Jerusalem with a
hundred armed men to induce the Sanhedrin to deprive me of my
commission; but this was not an easy thing to do, for Ananus, one of the
chief priests, demonstrated that many of the people bore witness that I
had acted like an excellent general.