New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1866-11-03
cr1prLrNG nRCOYERY.

an ortiouarian turn have given moro than passing
thought 10 to startling discovery recently made by
s;o,or Nessuno of the University Of Bologna over
ubcb All the learned societies of Europe just now
cbatteripe as noisily the crows in our Autumnal
woods. Perhaps indeed, some Of our readers may
never have so much as heard of the discovery.
And lest this should be the case, we make haste to lay
beore the world full account ef the matter, for we
cannot bear the thought that such piece Of intol
gence should reach the American public through any
journal but our own.
This discovery is nothing less than the finding
among the papyri Of POmpe, which Proi. NeSsuno
has for many years been engaged IN investigating, a
complete account Of tour taken by Ilerod the Great
Immediately after the Massacre of the lnnocents and
along with the account Of the journey ITSELF what we
sboud call full report of speech which he made at
one of the small towns in Judea, where he had occa-
sion 70 stop on his way, justfying the massacre and
throwing the whole blame on the babies themselves
What he took this journey for Is not very
clear. There is something about monument
or, perhaps the original word is more cor
reetly translated trophy, which was to
be erected to some deceased general; but,
whatever this may have BEEN it seems to have played
no important part in the programme Of the tour, for
there is no auson to it after the narrative once gets
the pary fairly started 1t has been limited that this
NAV have been a monument to that great and good
man. julius Cesar, but we think there is nothing
probable in this suggestion Herod does not appear
to have cared much for Cesar, although he owed his
advancement directly to him, Cesar having appointed
him military governor over Galilee, where be gave
proof Of energy and talent by suppressng rebellion
in that region and reducing the guerrillas to subms
n III b,ou tod
than Herod Immediately took sides with Brutus and
Casus although for time he concealed bis real SEN
tments so well that he long counted one of An
tony's party. 1t on this occasion that he ut
tered his famous maxim. Treason must be made
odous" and indeed he denounced traitors so violent
ly that his excessive zeal was little deprecatedj it
was feared he might show himself too boodthirsty.
But be aterward explained that what he had said
was meant in what We should call Pickwickian
sense aud that when be said traitors" he did not
mean his enemies, but his friends.
Herod does not appear to have been an amiable
person, if we may judge by numerous anecdotes that
have come down to u.s. He could not brook the slight
est opposition and if anybody said word he didn't
like lie would fly about, the Greek proyerh says,
L" like parched pea" He was of a cowardly dspo-
stiOn, too as cruel people are apt to be, and was
constantly in dread Of being assassnated, so that he
saw one of his chief officers lingering his sword or
toying with his dagger, he would tremble and grow
pale; but as he found himsefin safe place,
he would dance about in rage and call the offender
names and behave in such unseemly way that his
wise men, or those who stood for such, were cOntinu-
ally ashamed for him.
Our readers do not need to be told in detail of the
mad act of cruelty aud cowardiee which stained the
close of Herod's mean life. The massacre Of the In
noCents was hardly when be took the trip alluded
to- accompanied by some of the chief men of his king
dom; the old minister before mentioned, the general
who commanded his army the captain Of feet, the
keeper of bis treasure and a crowd Of insignificant
hangers.on parasites and atterers who pretended to
think him very wise aud great while they drank his
wine, ate his dinners and laughed at him in their
sleeves.
The massacre Of the Innoccnts had reused the peO-
pie Of Judea to an unimagined fury In their wild in
dgnatOn they had charged HerOd with personally
assisting in the murders, and when it proved that
he really was many miles away they insisted that he
had given orders TO bis military cOmmanderin Behle-
hem not to interfere with the soldiers II happened
that the officer in question not Roman, but
Judean and the people had great confidence in him,
and when Herod made proclamation 10 the effect
that this officer had Justified the massacre, and had
said that the Innocents were entirely 20 blame,
number Of hOt.headed unreasonable fellows stirred
up the people TO give the terarch tho lie direct.
Especially there was one Tribune Of the people that
made sucn stir day and night, in season and ont Of
season. that at last the bloody Herod was fairly wor
ried into telling the truth and owning up that S.
Heridanus which was the name Of the officer had
said exactly the contrary Of what had been ascrbed
to him. Our reader may imagine that all this only
made matters worse, and Herod had not got far out
Of Jerusalem on his tour when he began TO
hear the muttering of the storm. For full
account Of his progress we refer our readers
10 Prof Nessunos translation Of the original
document when it shall appear; but we must
content ourselves with single passage. Herod, be-
fore he started on his journey beside laying in a
plentiful stock Of the best liquors. had also provided
himself With speech which he had first written and
then committed to memoryj for, being an ignorant,
uneultvated person. be never could trust himself to
speak impromptu, his grammar being none Of the
best bis ideas ludicrousy ineoherent and the slight
est sign Of disrespect in bis audience lconceaed
grin, mock applause, scraping Of feet, cateang, or
any such little eccentrcties the part Of the audi
ence acting upon him like red rag on bull, and
making him rush about the platform, dash bis
crown off his head, and beat the nearest bYstander
with bis seepter. Therefore Herod had his speech
prepared beforehand and if Prof Nessuno has trans.
lated it literally it must have been really comic in
its effect. He is rcckoned to have stopped in all at
some sixty hundred places before be got back to
Jerusalem and at every one Of these places, he de-.
Il. 40, l. ~.