His household became the scene of bloody intrigues which even stirred
the tongue of Caesar with contempt. Herod became the dupe of a
designing sister, of base flatterers, and of an evil and ambitious son.
They undermined his confidence in all who deserved it. His beloved
wife Mariamne, his two sons Alexander and Aristobulus, and many others
of exceptional good repute in the kingdom were unjustly put to death.
Then, swiftly, as he penetrated the maze of plot and counterplot, those
who had fooled him began to fall before his wrath. He was now, indeed,
a forlorn, loveless, and terrible creature.
Many thought him afflicted with madness. There were noble folk in
Jerusalem who said they had seen the body of Mariamne embalmed in
honey, above the king's chamber, where every day he could look upon it.
Some had seen him wandering about the palace at night with a candle,
mourning over his loss and raging at his own folly. Some had seen him
so shaken by remorse that he roared like a lion goaded by hunger and
the lance. At such a time it was, indeed, a peril to come before him.
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