Quae pauci in metum trahebant: pluribus persuasio inerat antiquis sacerdotum litteris contineri eo ipso tempore fore ut valesceret Oriens profectique Iudaea rerum potirentur.
Few people regarded these signs with fear; most were convinced that their ancient priestly texts contained the prophecy that this was the exact moment when the East would gain strength and that people, beginning from Judea, would conquer the world.