WEB ER 4 Maccabees Chapter 6
When Eleazar had in this manner answered the exhortations of the tyrant, the spearbearers came up, and rudely dragged Eleazar to the instruments of torture. First, they stripped the old man, adorned as he was with the beauty of piety. Then tying back his arms and hands, they disdainfully flogged him. A herald opposite cried out, Obey the commands of the king!
But the high-minded and truly noble Eleazar, as one tortured in a dream, ignored it. 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. Falling on the ground from his body having no power to endure the pains, he still kept his reasoning upright and unbending. 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. But he endured the pains, despised the cruelty, and persevered through the indignities. Like a noble athlete, the old man, when struck, vanquished his torturers. His face sweating, and he panting for breath, he was admired even by the torturers for his courage.
Therefore, partly in pity for his old age, partly from the sympathy of acquaintance, and partly in admiration of his endurance, some of the attendants of the king said,
Why do you unreasonably destroy yourself, O Eleazar, with these miseries? We will bring you some meat cooked by yourself, and you can save yourself by pretending that you have eaten swine’s flesh.
Eleazar, as though the advice more painfully tortured him, cried out,
Let us who are children of Abraham not be so evil advised as by giving way to make use of an unbecoming pretense. 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 and ourselves become a pattern of impiety to the young, as being an example of eating pollution. It would be disgraceful if we would live on some short time, and that scorned by all men for cowardice, and be condemned by the tyrant for cowardice by not contending to the death for our divine law. Therefore you, O children of Abraham, die nobly for your religion. You spearbearers of the tyrant, why do you linger?
Beholding him so high-minded against misery, and not changing at their pity, they led him to the fire. Then with their wickedly contrived instruments they burned him on the fire, and poured stinking fluids down into his nostrils.
He being at length burned down to the bones, and about to expire, raised his eyes Godward, and said,
You know, O God, that when I might have been saved, I am slain for the sake of the law by tortures of fire. Be merciful to your people, and be satisfied with the punishment of me on their account. Let my blood be a purification for them, and take my life in exchange for theirs.
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. Confessedly, therefore, religious reasoning is master of the emotions. For had the emotions been superior to reasoning, I would have given them the witness of this mastery. But now, since reasoning conquered the emotions, we befittingly award it the authority of first place. It is only fair that we should allow that the power belongs to reasoning, since it masters external miseries. 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.