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taking in the events, what would she not have suffered? How was she not driven out of her mind, seeing each of them being destroyed little by little by certain diverse and dreadful punishments? How was her soul not torn from her body? How did she not leap upon the pyre from the first sight, freeing herself from the rest of the spectacle? For if she was a philosopher, she was also a mother; if God-loving, she was also clothed in flesh; if she was eager, she also partook of a woman's nature; if she burned with zeal for piety, she was also held by the bond of birth-pangs. For if we, being men, often seeing a condemned man being led through the marketplace with a gag on his mouth, being dragged to the pit, though we have no claim of friendship toward him, are broken down by the sight alone, although we have sufficient consolation for not suffering such a thing in the wickedness of the condemned man; what was it likely for her to suffer, seeing not one condemned man being led away, but seven children all at once in a single day, not by a swift death, but being cut down by various kinds of slaughter? For if she were of stone, if her heart were made of adamant, would she not have been disturbed, would she not have suffered something such as it was likely for both a woman and a mother to suffer? Consider how we admire the patriarch Abraham, because having brought up his son, he bound him and brought him up to the altar, and then you will see well how great was the woman's courage. O most bitter and most sweet sight! most bitter because of the nature of the events, but most sweet because of the disposition of the one seeing. For she did not see the flowing blood, but she saw the crowns of righteousness being woven; she did not look upon sides being pierced, but she looked upon eternal tents being built50.621; she did not see the executioners standing around, but she saw angels circling; she forgot the birth-pangs, she scorned nature, she looked beyond their age; she scorned nature, a tyrannical thing, nature, which is accustomed to rule even over beasts. Indeed, many of the hard-to-catch beasts are thus caught, disregarding their own safety through compassion for their young, and falling unguardedly into the hands of hunters; and there is no animal so weak that it would not defend its offspring; none so tame that it is not provoked when its children are taken away. But she overthrew the tyranny of nature that extends both through rational humans and irrational animals; and not only did she not leap upon the head of the tyrant, nor tear his face apart, seeing her cubs being torn apart, but she displayed such an excess of philosophy, as to even prepare for him the inhuman feast, and while the first ones were still being punished, to anoint the remaining ones for the trial of the same terrible things. 3. Let mothers hear these things, let them emulate the courage of the woman, her tender love for her offspring; thus let them raise their children; for bearing a child does not make a mother, for that is of nature, but raising a child makes a mother, for that is of choice. And that you may learn that bearing a child does not make a mother, but raising one well, hear Paul crowning the widow not for childbirth, but for the raising of children. For having said, Let a widow be enrolled, being not less than sixty years of age, well attested for good works, he added the chief of good works. And what is this? If she has brought up children, he says; he did not say, if she has borne children, but, If she has brought up children. Let us consider then what it was likely for the woman to suffer, if indeed we should call her a woman, seeing fingers writhing on the coals, a head leaping off, an iron hand laid on another child's head, and tearing off the skin, and the one suffering these things still standing and speaking. How did she open her mouth? How did she move her tongue?

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παραλαμβάνουσα τὰ γινόμενα, τί οὐκ ἂν ἔπαθε; πῶς οὐκ ἐξέστη τῇ διανοίᾳ ἕκαστον αὐτῶν ὁρῶσα διαφόροις τισὶ καὶ φρικταῖς τιμωρίαις κατὰ μικρὸν ἀναιρούμενον; πῶς οὐκ ἀπεῤῥάγη τοῦ σώματος ἡ ψυχή; πῶς οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης ὄψεως ἐπὶ τὴν πυρὰν ἐπεπήδησεν ἀπαλλάττουσα ἑαυτὴν τῆς λοιπῆς θεωρίας; Εἰ γὰρ καὶ φιλόσοφος ἦν, ἀλλὰ μήτηρ· εἰ καὶ θεοφιλὴς, ἀλλὰ καὶ σάρκα περιέκειτο· εἰ καὶ πρόθυμος ἦν, ἀλλὰ καὶ γυναικείας μετεῖχε φύσεως· εἰ καὶ τῷ ζήλῳ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἔζεεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ δεσμῷ τῶν ὠδίνων κατείχετο. Εἰ γὰρ ἡμεῖς ἄνδρες ὄντες κατάδικον πολλάκις ὁρῶντες διὰ τῆς ἀγορᾶς ἀγόμενον τὸ σπαρτίον ἐπὶ τοῦ στόματος ἔχοντα, ἐπὶ τὸ βάραθρον ἑλκόμενον, οὐδὲν δικαίωμα φιλίας πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔχοντες, ἀπὸ τῆς θέας μόνης κατακλώμεθα, καίτοι ἱκανὴν ἔχοντες παραμυθίαν πρὸς τὸ μηδὲν τοιοῦτον παθεῖν, τοῦ καταδεδικασμένου τὴν πονηρίαν· τί παθεῖν ταύτην εἰκὸς οὐχὶ κατάδικον ἕνα ὁρῶσαν ἀπαγόμενον, ἀλλ' ἑπτὰ παιδία ἀθρόον ἐν ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ οὐχὶ συντόμῳ τελευτῇ, ἀλλὰ ποικίλαις κατακοπτόμενα σφαγαῖς; Εἰ γὰρ λιθίνη τις ἦν, εἰ γὰρ ἐξ ἀδάμαντος αὐτῇ τὰ σπλάγχνα ἐπεπήγει, οὐκ ἂν διεταράχθη, οὐκ ἂν ἔπαθέ τι τοιοῦτον, οἷον καὶ γυναῖκα καὶ μητέρα παθεῖν εἰκὸς ἦν; Ἐννόησον πῶς θαυμάζομεν τὸν πατριάρχην Ἀβραὰμ, ὅτι τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἀνενεγκὼν συνεπόδισε καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον ἀνεβίβασε, καὶ τότε ὄψει καλῶς ὅση τῆς γυναικὸς ἡ ἀνδρεία. Ὢ πικροτάτης θέας καὶ ἡδίστης ἐκείνης· πικροτάτης μὲν διὰ τὴν φύσιν τῶν γινομένων, ἡδίστης δὲ διὰ τὴν διάθεσιν τῆς ὁρώσης. Οὐ γὰρ ἑώρα τὸ καταῤῥέον αἷμα, ἀλλ' ἑώρα τοὺς στεφάνους τῆς δικαιοσύνης πλεκομένους· οὐκ ἔβλεπε διορυττομένας πλευρὰς, ἀλλ' ἔβλεπεν οἰκοδομουμένας σκηνὰς αἰω50.621 νίους· οὐχ ἑώρα περιεστῶτας δημίους, ἀλλ' ἑώρα κυκλοῦντας ἀγγέλους· ἐπελάθετο τῶν ὠδίνων, κατεφρόνησε τῆς φύσεως, ὑπερεῖδε τῆς ἡλικίας· κατεφρόνησε φύσεως, πράγματος τυραννικοῦ, φύσεως, ἣ καὶ τῶν θηρίων κρατεῖν εἴωθε. Πολλὰ γοῦν τῶν δυσαλώτων θηρίων οὕτως ἁλίσκεται, διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὰ παιδία συμπάθειαν τῆς οἰκείας ἀλογοῦντα σωτηρίας, καὶ ἀφυλάκτως εἰς τὰς τῶν θηρατῶν ἐμπίπτοντα χεῖρας· καὶ οὐδέν ἐστι ζῶον οὕτως ἀσθενὲς, ὃ μὴ ὑπερασπίζοι τῶν ἐγγόνων· οὐδὲν οὕτως ἥμερον, ὃ μὴ τῶν παιδίων ἀφαιρουμένων παροξύνηται. Ἀλλ' αὕτη καὶ τὴν διὰ τῶν λογικῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ τὴν διὰ τῶν ἀλόγων ζώων τεταμένην τῆς φύσεως τυραννίδα κατέλυσε· καὶ οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἐπεπήδησε τῇ κεφαλῇ τοῦ τυράννου, οὐδὲ διεσπάραξεν αὐτοῦ τὴν ὄψιν, ὁρῶσα τοὺς σκύμνους διασπαρασσομένους, ἀλλὰ τοσαύτην ἐπεδείξατο φιλοσοφίας ὑπερβολὴν, ὡς καὶ προπαρασκευάζειν αὐτῷ τὴν ἀπάνθρωπον θοίνην, καὶ τῶν προτέρων ἔτι κολαζομένων, τοὺς ὑπολειπομένους πρὸς τὴν τῶν αὐτῶν πεῖραν ἀλείφειν δεινῶν. γʹ. Ἀκουέτωσαν μητέρες ταῦτα, ζηλούτωσαν τὴν ἀνδρείαν τῆς γυναικὸς, τὴν περὶ τὰ ἔγγονα φιλοστοργίαν· οὕτω τρεφέτωσαν τὰ παιδία· οὐ γὰρ τὸ τεκεῖν μητρὸς, τοῦτο γὰρ τῆς φύσεως, ἀλλὰ τὸ θρέψαι μητρὸς, τοῦτο γὰρ τῆς προαιρέσεως. Καὶ ἵνα μάθῃς, ὅτι οὐ τὸ τεκεῖν ποιεῖ μητέρα, ἀλλὰ τὸ θρέψαι καλῶς, ἄκουσον τοῦ Παύλου στεφανοῦντος τὴν χήραν οὐ διὰ τὸν τόκον, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν τροφὴν τῶν παιδίων. Εἰπὼν γὰρ, Χήρα καταλεγέσθω μὴ ἔλαττον ἐτῶν ἑξήκοντα γεγονυῖα, ἐν ἔργοις καλοῖς μαρτυρουμένη, τὸ κεφάλαιον τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἔργων ἐπήγαγεν. Τί δὲ τοῦτό ἐστιν; Εἰ ἐτεκνοτρόφησε, φησίν· οὐκ εἶπεν, εἰ ἐτεκνοποίησεν, ἀλλ', Εἰ ἐτεκνοτρόφησεν. Ἐννοήσωμεν τοίνυν τί πάσχειν εἰκὸς τὴν γυναῖκα, εἴ γε γυναῖκα δεῖ αὐτὴν καλεῖν, ὁρῶσαν δακτύλους σπαίροντας ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθράκων, κεφαλὴν ἐξαλλομένην, σιδηρᾶν χεῖρα ἐπιβαλλομένην ἑτέρου παιδίου κεφαλῇ, καὶ τὴν δορὰν ἀποσύρουσαν, καὶ τὸν ταῦτα πάσχοντα ἑστῶτα ἔτι καὶ διαλεγόμενον. Πῶς διῆρε στόμα; πῶς ἐκίνησε γλῶτταν;