195:3.4

The multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul. Not one of them claimed that anything of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. With great power, the apostles gave their testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Great grace was on them all. For neither was there among them any who lacked, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and distribution was made to each, according as anyone had need.

If it were lawful for us to paint as on a tablet the religion of your story, the spectators wouldn’t shudder at seeing the mother of seven children enduring for the sake of religion various tortures even to death. It would have been a worthwhile thing to have inscribed on the tomb itself these words as a memorial to those of the nation, “Here an aged priest, an aged woman, and seven sons, are buried through the violence of a tyrant, who wished to destroy the society of the Hebrews. These also avenged their nation, looking to God, and enduring torments to death.” For it was truly a divine contest which was carried through by them. For at that time virtue presided over the contest, approving the victory through endurance, namely, immortality, eternal life. Eleazar was the first to contend. The mother of the seven children entered the contest, and the kindred contended. The tyrant was the antagonist; and the world and living men were the spectators. Reverence for God conquered, and crowned her own athletes. Who didn’t admire those champions of true legislation? Who were not amazed? The tyrant himself, and all their council, admired their endurance, through which, they also now stand beside the divine throne and live a blessed life. For Moses says, “All the saints are under your hands.” These, therefore, having been sanctified through God, have been honored not only with this honor, but that also by the fact that because of them, the enemy didn’t overcome our nation. That tyrant was punished and their country purified. For they became the ransom to the sin of the nation. The Divine Providence saved Israel, which was afflicted before, by the blood of those pious ones and the death that appeased wrath. For the tyrant Antiochus, looking to their courageous virtue and to their endurance in torture, proclaimed that endurance as an example to his soldiers. They proved to be to him noble and brave for land battles and for sieges; and he conquered and stormed the towns of all his enemies.

I might prove to you from many other considerations, that religious reasoning is sole master of the emotions; but I will prove it with the greatest force from the fortitude of Eleazar, and seven kindred, and their mother, who suffered death in defense of virtue. For all these, treating pains with contempt even to death, by this contempt, demonstrated that reasoning has command over the emotions. For their virtues, then, it is right that I should commend those men who died with their mother at this time on behalf of nobility and goodness; and for their honors, I may count them blessed. For they, winning admiration not only from men in general, but even from the persecutors, for their courage and endurance, became the means of the destruction of the tyranny against their nation, having conquered the tyrant by their endurance, so that by them their country was purified. But we may now at once enter upon the question, having commenced, as is our custom, with laying down the doctrine, and so proceed to the account of these people, giving glory to the all-wise God.