4 Maccabees 3 — WEBC
3Verse 1The argument is exceedingly ridiculous, for reasoning doesn’t appear to rule over its own affections, but over those of the body,Verse 2in such a way as that any one of you may not be able to root out desire, but reasoning will enable you to avoid being enslaved to it.Verse 3One may not be able to root out anger from the soul, but it is possible to withstand anger.Verse 4Any one of you may not be able to eradicate malice, but reasoning has force to work with you to prevent you yielding to malice.Verse 5For reasoning is not an eradicator, but an antagonist of the emotions.Verse 6This may be more clearly comprehended from the thirst of King David.Verse 7For after David had been attacking the Philistines the whole day, he with the soldiers of his nation killed many of them;Verse 8then when evening came, sweating and very weary, he came to the royal tent, around which the entire army of our ancestors was encamped.Verse 9Now all the rest of them were at supper;Verse 10but the king, being very much thirsty, although he had numerous springs, could not by their means quench his thirst;Verse 11but a certain irrational longing for the water in the enemy’s camp grew stronger and fiercer upon him, undid and consumed him.Verse 12Therefore his bodyguards being troubled at this longing of the king, two valiant young soldiers, respecting the desire of the king, fully armed themselves, and taking a pitcher, got over the ramparts of the enemies.Verse 13Unperceived by the guardians of the gate, they went throughout the whole camp of the enemy in quest.Verse 14Having boldly discovered the fountain, they filled out of it the drink for the king.Verse 15But he, though parched with thirst, reasoned that a drink regarded of equal value to blood would be terribly dangerous to his soul.Verse 16Therefore, setting up reasoning in opposition to his desire, he poured out the drink to God.Verse 17For the temperate mind has power to conquer the pressure of the emotions, to quench the fires of excitement,Verse 18and to wrestle down the pains of the body, however excessive, and through the excellency of reasoning, to spurn all the assaults of the emotions.Verse 19But the occasion now invites us to give an illustration of temperate reasoning from history.Verse 20For at a time when our fathers were in possession of undisturbed peace through obedience to the law and were prosperous, so that Seleucus Nicanor, the king of Asia, both assigned them money for divine service, and accepted their form of government,Verse 21then certain people, bringing in new things contrary to the public harmony, in various ways fell into calamities.