CRASSUS1. When Marcus Crassus In the year of the World 3950, before J. C. 50. before the vulgar Æra 54.was upon the expedition against the Parthians, he came into Judæa, and took eight thousand one hundred Talents of Gold, and two thousand Talents of Silver out of the Treasury of the Temple at Jerusalem; and as he intended farther to carry off the sacred Vessels, and richest Vails of the Temple, the Priest Eleazar, who had the keeping of them, told him, that he would shew him a Beam of massy Gold, if he would promise him upon Oath, that he would touch nothing else. Crassus swore, he would not; whereupon Eleazar discovered a golden Beam to him, which weighed three hundred Mina’s; now a Mina is two pounds and an half Hebrew. This Beam lay concealed in another hollow one of Wood, upon which were hung the richest Vails of the Temple. But the avarice of Crassus was not yet satisfied with all this Wealth; for after this he carried off all the Gold that was in the Temple. It was not long ere the vengeance of God overtook him, and punished him severely for his Sacrilege: For having invaded the Territories of the Parthians, he perished there with the greatest part of his Army.
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Footnotes
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Translators’ note. He was celebrated for his great Wealth and Avarice. Dr. Prideaux tells us from Plutarch, that after he had consecrated the tenth of all he had to Hercules, had feasted all the Roman People at ten thousand Tables, and given to every Roman Citizen a Donation of as much Corn as would last him three Months, he found the remainder of his Estate to be seven thousand one hundred Roman Talents, which amounts to above a Million and an half of our Money. Prid. Connect. &c. Part i. B. v. ↩