He gave freely to the poor; he erected gorgeous places of amusement; he built the new temple and a great palace in the upper city.

The splendor of the latter structures had outdone the imperator.

No shape born of barbaric dreams, to be slowly spread upon the earth in marble and gold, had so taxed the cunning and the patience of human hands.

Such, in brief, were the character, the troubles, the home, and the city of Herod..