Fourth Book Of Maccabees
1926 anthology, complete selected publisher reading text
Rutherford H. Platt
19 And under these orders of the tyrant seven brethren together with their aged mother were brought prisoners before him, all handsome, and modest, and well-born,--and generally attractive.
20 And when the tyrant saw them there, standing as if they were a festal choir with their mother in the midst, he took notice of them, and struck by their noble and distinguished bearing he smiled at them, and calling them nearer said:
21 ‘O young men, I wish well to each one of you, and admire your beauty, and honour highly so large a band of brothers; so not only do I advise you not to persist in the madness of that old man who has already suffered, but I even entreat of you to yield to me and become partakers in my friendship.
22 For, as I am able to punish those who disobey my orders, so am I able to advance those who do obey me.
23 Be assured then that you shall be given positions of importance and authority in my service if you will reject the ancestral law of your polity.
24 Share in the Hellenic life, and walk in a new way, and take some pleasure in your youth; for if you drive me to anger with your disobedience you will compel me to resort to terrible penalties and put every single one of you to death by torture.
25 Have pity then on yourselves, whom even I, your opponent, pity for your youth and your beauty.
26 Will you not consider with yourselves this thing, that if you disobey me there is nothing before you but death in torments?’
27 With these words he ordered the instruments of torture to be brought forward in order to persuade them by fear to eat unclean meat.
28 But when the guards had produced wheels, and joint-dislocators, and racks, and bone-crushers, and catapults, and cauldrons, and braziers, and thumb-screws, and iron claws, and wedges, and branding irons, the tyrant spoke again and said:
29 ‘You had better feel fear, my lads, and the justice you worship will pardon your unwilling transgression.’
30 But they, hearing his persuasions, and seeing his dreadful engines, not only showed no fear but actually arrayed their philosophy in opposition to the tyrant, and by their right Reason did abase his tyranny.
31 And yet consider; supposing some amongst them to have been faint-hearted and cowardly, what sort of language would they have used? would it not have been to this effect?
32 ‘Alas! miserable creatures that we are and foolish above measure! When the king invites us and appeals to us on terms of kind treatment shall we not obey him?
33 Why do we encourage ourselves with vain desires and dare a disobedience that is to cost us our lives? Shall we not, O men my brothers, fear the dread instruments and weigh well his threats of the tortures, and abandon these empty vaunts and this fatal bragging?
34 Let us take pity on our own youth and have compassion on our mother’s age; and let us lay to heart that if we disobey we shall die.
35 And even the divine justice will have mercy on us, if compelled by necessity we yield to the king in fear. Why should we cast away from us this dear life and rob ourselves of this sweet world?
36 Let us not strive against necessity nor with vain confidence invite our torture.
37 Even the Law itself does not willingly condemn us to death, we being in terror of the instruments of torture.
38 Why does such contentiousness inflame us and a fatal obstinacy find favour with us, when we might have a peaceful life by obeying the king?’
39 But no such words escaped these young men at the prospect of the torture, nor did such thoughts enter into their minds.
40 For they were despisers of the passions and masters over pain.
CHAP. V.
A chapter of horror and torture revealing ancient tyranny at its utmost savagery. Verse 26 is profound truth.
AND thus no sooner did the tyrant conclude his urging of them to eat unclean meat than all with one voice together, and as with one soul, said to him:
2 ‘Why dost thou delay, O tyrant? We are ready to die rather than transgress the commandments of our fathers.
3 For we should be putting our ancestors also to shame, if we did not walk in obedience to the Law and take Moses as our counsellor.
4 O tyrant that counsellest us to transgress the Law, do not, hating us, pity us beyond ourselves.
5 For we esteem thy mercy, giving. us our life in return for a breach of the Law, a thing harder to bear than death itself.
6 Thou wouldst terrify us with thy threats of death under torture, as if a little while ago thou hadst learned nothing from Eleazar.
7 But if the old men of the Hebrews endured the tortures for righteousness’ sake, yea, until they died, more befittingly will we young men die despising the torments of thy compulsion, over which he our aged teacher also triumphed.
8 Make trial therefore, O tyrant. And if thou takest our lives for the sake of righteousness, think not that thou hurtest us with thy tortures.
9 For we through this our evil entreatment and our endurance of it shall win the prize of virtue; but thou for our cruel murder shalt suffer at the hands of divine justice sufficient torment by fire for ever.’
10 These words of the youths redoubled the wrath of the tyrant, not at their disobedience only but at what he considered their ingratitude.
11 So by his orders the scourgers brought forward the eldest of them and stripped him of his garment and bound his hands and arms on either side with thongs.
12 But when they had scourged him till they were weary, and gained nothing thereby, they cast him upon the wheel.
13 And on it the noble youth was racked till his bones were out of joint. And as joint after joint gave way, he denounced the tyrant in these words:
14 ‘O thou most abominable tyrant, thou enemy of the justice of heaven and bloody-minded, thou dost torment me in this fashion not for manslaying nor for impiety but for defending the Law of God.’
15 And when the guards said to him, ‘Consent to eat, that so you may be released from your tortures,’ he said to them, ‘Your method, O miserable minions, is not strong enough to lead captive my Reason. Cut off my limbs, and burn my flesh, and twist my joints; through all the torments I will show you that in behalf of virtue the sons of the Hebrews alone are unconquerable.’
16 As he thus spake they set hot coals upon him besides, and intensifying the torture strained him yet tighter on the wheel.