4 Maccabees 6 — WEBC

6Verse 1When Eleazar had in this manner answered the exhortations of the tyrant, the spearbearers came up, and rudely dragged Eleazar to the instruments of torture.^{Verse 2}First, they stripped the old man, adorned as he was with the beauty of piety.^{Verse 3}Then tying back his arms and hands, they disdainfully flogged him.^{Verse 4}A herald opposite cried out, “Obey the commands of the king!”^{Verse 5}But the high-minded and truly noble Eleazar, as one tortured in a dream, ignored it.^{Verse 6}But raising his eyes on high to heaven, the old man’s flesh was stripped off by the scourges, and his blood streamed down, and his sides were pierced through.^{Verse 7}Falling on the ground from his body having no power to endure the pains, he still kept his reasoning upright and unbending.^{Verse 8}Then one of the harsh spearbearers rushed at him and began to kick him in the side to force him to get up again after he fell.^{Verse 9}But he endured the pains, despised the cruelty, and persevered through the indignities.^{Verse 10}Like a noble athlete, the old man, when struck, vanquished his torturers.^{Verse 11}His face sweating, and he panting for breath, he was admired even by the torturers for his courage.^{Verse 12}Therefore, partly in pity for his old age,^{Verse 13}partly from the sympathy of acquaintance, and partly in admiration of his endurance, some of the attendants of the king said,^{Verse 14}“Why do you unreasonably destroy yourself, O Eleazar, with these miseries?^{Verse 15}We will bring you some meat cooked by yourself, and you can save yourself by pretending that you have eaten swine’s flesh.”^{Verse 16}Eleazar, as though the advice more painfully tortured him, cried out,^{Verse 17}“Let us who are children of Abraham not be so evil advised as by giving way to make use of an unbecoming pretense.^{Verse 18}For it would be irrational, if having lived up to old age in all truth, and having scrupulously guarded our character for it, we would now turn back^{Verse 19}and ourselves become a pattern of impiety to the young, as being an example of eating pollution.^{Verse 20}It would be disgraceful if we would live on some short time, and that scorned by all men for cowardice,^{Verse 21}and be condemned by the tyrant for cowardice by not contending to the death for our divine law.^{Verse 22}Therefore you, O children of Abraham, die nobly for your religion.^{Verse 23}You spearbearers of the tyrant, why do you linger?”^{Verse 24}Beholding him so high-minded against misery, and not changing at their pity, they led him to the fire.^{Verse 25}Then with their wickedly contrived instruments they burned him on the fire, and poured stinking fluids down into his nostrils.^{Verse 26}He being at length burned down to the bones, and about to expire, raised his eyes Godward, and said,^{Verse 27}“You know, O God, that when I might have been saved, I am slain for the sake of the law by tortures of fire.^{Verse 28}Be merciful to your people, and be satisfied with the punishment of me on their account.^{Verse 29}Let my blood be a purification for them, and take my life in exchange for theirs.”^{Verse 30}Thus speaking, the holy man departed, noble in his torments, and even to the agonies of death resisted in his reasoning for the sake of the law.^{Verse 31}Confessedly, therefore, religious reasoning is master of the emotions.^{Verse 32}For had the emotions been superior to reasoning, I would have given them the witness of this mastery.^{Verse 33}But now, since reasoning conquered the emotions, we befittingly award it the authority of first place.^{Verse 34}It is only fair that we should allow that the power belongs to reasoning, since it masters external miseries.^{Verse 35}It would be ridiculous if it weren’t so. I prove that reasoning has not only mastered pains, but that it is also superior to the pleasures, and withstands them.