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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GinoLR, post: 8051150, member: 128351&quot;]Josephus tells us what Pompey did when he took the Temple of Jerusalem with the aim of stopping a civil war among the Jews and restoring order:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;<i>But there was nothing that affected the nation so much, in the calamities they were then under, as that their holy place, which had been hitherto seen by none, should be laid open to strangers; for Pompey, and those that were about him, went into the temple itself whither it was not lawful for any to enter but the high-priest, and saw what was reposited therein, the candlestick with its lamps, and the table, and the pouring vessels, and the censers, all made entirely of gold, as also a great quantity of spices heaped together, with two thousand talents of sacred money. Yet did not he touch that money, nor any thing else that was there reposited: but he commanded the ministers about the temple, the very next day after he had taken it, to cleanse it and to perform their accustomed sacrifices. Moreover, he made Hyrcanus high priest</i> (...)&quot; (<i>War of the Jews</i>, I, 7.6)</p><p><br /></p><p>Pompey knew very well that the Holy of Holies was the very focal point of the Jewish religion, the ultimate taboo. He knew perfectly that this most sacred room was allowed only to the High Priest and the Divine presence. An absolute taboo of the same kind existed in Rome, where the Pontifex Maximus was the only person who had the right to touch and even see the Palladium, hidden in a shrine in the Vesta Temple. Knowing this, he entered the Holy of Holies with his lieutenants, and I even guess if some of them wanted to take off his dirty <i>caligae </i>before entering he certainly told him &quot;What for?&quot;. He just entered, walked into this most sacred and forbidden place, touched nothing, then exited and gave orders to resume the usual religious rituals, and even himself appointed the new high priest... </p><p><br /></p><p>The message was : No law is above the <i>imperium </i>of Rome, for your own good.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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