Gregory of Nazianzus, In Praise of the Maccabees 1

she reserved the last one for the dangers; so that having first made a spectacle of my offspring, and having contended through each of my children, I might thus depart with perfect safety and perfect victims. I will not tear my hair, I will not rend my tunic, I will not scratch my flesh with my nails, I will not raise a lament, I will not call the mourning women, I will not shut myself in darkness so that the very air might mourn with me, I will not wait for comforters, I will not set out the bread of mourning. For these are the actions of ignoble mothers, who are mothers of the flesh only, whose children are gone without any noble story. But to me you have not died, dearest of children, but have been brought forth as fruit; you have not departed, but have passed over; you have not been consumed, but have been made firm; no beast has seized you, no wave has overwhelmed you, no robber has destroyed you, no disease has dissolved you, no war has consumed you, nor anything else, small or great, of human misfortunes. I would have mourned, and very vehemently, if any of these things had befallen you. I would have appeared then by my tears, as I do now by not weeping, a lover of my children. And even these things are small. Truly I would have lamented you, if you had been saved in a wicked way, if you had been defeated by the tortures, if they had prevailed over any of you, as the persecutors are now defeated. But as it is, there is praise, joy, glory, choral dances, gladness for those who are left behind. For I am poured out as a libation for you. We shall be ranked with Phinehas, we shall be glorified with Hannah. Except that he was one, while you are so many zealous slayers of fornication, not piercing the fornication of bodies, but of souls. And she dedicated one, a gift from God, and he a newborn; but I have consecrated seven men to God, and them willingly. Let Jeremiah also complete for me the epitaph, not lamenting, but praising a holy death. You shone whiter than snow, you were whiter than milk, your company was more than sapphire stone, being both born for God and given to God. What more? Add me also, O tyrant, to my children, if there is any favor even from enemies, so that your contest may be more glorious. Would that I had also gone through all the tortures, that I might mix my blood with their 35.929 blood, and my aged flesh with their flesh. For the sake of my children, I love even the instruments of torture; but if not this, at least let dust be joined to dust, and one tomb receive us. Do not begrudge an end of equal honor, to those who are of equal honor in virtue. Rejoice, O mothers, rejoice, O children. Thus nourish those who have come forth from you; thus be nourished. We have given you a good example; contend.”

Ιʹ. She said these things, and added herself to her children. In what way? By running to the pyre as to a bridal chamber (for to this she was condemned), and not even waiting for those leading her, so that no impure body might touch her pure and noble body. Thus Eleazar enjoyed his priesthood, being initiated and initiating others into the heavenly things, and not sanctifying Israel with external sprinklings, but with his own blood, and making his end a final mystery; thus the children enjoyed their youth, not by being enslaved to pleasures, but by mastering their passions, and having purified the body, and having passed over to the passionless life. Thus the mother enjoyed her fruitfulness; thus she was adorned by them while they lived, and rested with them when they departed; whom she bore for the world, she presented to God, numbering her own birth-pangs by their contests, and making known the sequence of her offspring by their deaths. For from the first of the children to the last of the contest, and as if in the rising up of waves, one after another displayed virtue, and was more eager to suffer, being steeled by the dangers of the one who went before; so that the tyrant wished that she had not been the mother of so many; for he would have departed more shamed, and defeated. And then for the first time he learned, not being powerful in all things with his weapons, when he attacked unarmed children, armed with one thing only, piety, and more eager to suffer all things, than he was prepared to inflict.

τελευταίαν ἐταμιεύ σατο τοῖς κινδύνοις· ἵνα τὸν ἐμὸν τόκον πρότερον θεατρίσασα, καὶ καθ' ἕκαστον τῶν παίδων ἀθλή σασα, οὕτως ἐπαπέλθω σὺν ἀσφαλείᾳ τελείᾳ τε λείοις θύμασιν. Οὐ σπαράξομαι κόμην, οὐ διαῤῥήξω χιτῶνα, οὐ ξανῶ σάρκας ὄνυξιν, οὐκ ἐγερῶ θρῆνον, οὐ καλέσω τὰς συνθρηνούσας, οὐ συγκλείσω εἰς σκότος, ἵνα καὶ ἀὴρ συνθρηνήσῃ μοι, οὐκ ἀνα μενῶ παρακλήτορας, οὐκ ἄρτον πένθιμον παραθήσομαι. Ταῦτα γὰρ τῶν ἀγεννῶν μητέρων, αἳ σαρκῶν μόνον εἰσὶ μητέρες, αἷς οἴχονται παῖδες ἄνευ σεμνοῦ τινος διηγήματος. Ἐμοὶ δὲ οὐ τεθνή κατε, φίλτατοι παίδων, ἀλλ' ἐκαρποφορήθητε· οὐκ ἐκλελοίπατε, ἀλλὰ μετεληλύθατε· οὐ κατεξάνθητε, ἀλλὰ συνεπάγητε· οὐ θηρίον ἥρπασεν ὑμᾶς, οὐ κῦμα ἐπέκλυσεν, οὐ λῃστὴς διέφθειρεν, οὐ νόσος δι έλυσεν, οὐ πόλεμος παρανάλωσεν, οὐκ ἄλλο οὐδὲν ἢ μικρὸν ἢ μεῖζον τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων. Ἐθρήνησα ἂν καὶ μάλα σφοδρῶς, εἴ τι τούτων ὑμῖν συνέπεσεν. Ἐφάνην ἂν τότε τοῖς δάκρυσιν, ὡς νῦν τῷ μὴ δα κρῦσαι, φιλότεκνος. Ἔτι καὶ ταῦτα μικρά. Ὄντως ἂν ὑμᾶς ἀπεκλαυσάμην, εἰ κακῶς ἐσώθητε, εἰ τῶν βα σάνων ἡττήθητε, εἴ τινος ὑμῶν ἐκράτησαν, ὡς ἡττήθησαν νῦν οἱ διώκοντες. Τὰ δὲ νῦν, εὐφημία, χαρὰ, δόξα, χοροστασίαι, φαιδρότητες τοῖς ὑπολει φθεῖσιν. Ἐγὼ γὰρ ὑμῖν ἐπισπένδομαι. Μετὰ Φινεὲς ταχθησόμεθα, μετὰ Ἄννης δοξασθησόμεθα. Πλὴν ὅσον ὁ μὲν εἷς, ὑμεῖς δὲ τοσοῦτοι ζηλωταὶ πορ νοκτόνοι, οὐ σωμάτων πορνείαν, ἀλλὰ ψυχῶν ἐγκεν τήσαντες. Καὶ ἡ μὲν, ἕνα θεόσδοτον, ἀρτιγενῆ καὶ τοῦτον· ἐγὼ δὲ ἄνδρας ἑπτὰ, καὶ τούτους ἑκόν τας Θεῷ καθιέρωσα. Συμπληρούτω μοι καὶ Ἱερε μίας τὸν ἐπιτάφιον, οὐ θρηνῶν, ἀλλ' εὐφημῶν τελευτὴν ὁσίαν. Ὑπὲρ χιόνα ἐλάμψατε, ὑπὲρ γάλα ἐτυρώθητε, ὑπὲρ λίθον σάπφειρον τὸ σύνταγμα ὑμῶν, Θεῷ καὶ γεγεννημένων καὶ δεδομένων. Τί ἔτι; Πρόσθες, ὦ τύραννε, κἀμὲ τοῖς παισὶν, εἴ τις καὶ παρ' ἐχθρῶν χάρις, ἵν' ᾖ σοι σεμνότερον τὸ ἀγώνισ μα. Εἴθε μὲν καὶ διὰ πασῶν ἦλθον τῶν κολάσεων, ἵνα ἀναμίξω τοὺς ἐμοὺς ἰχῶρας τοῖς ἐκείνων 35.929 ἰχῶρσι, καὶ ταῖς σαρξὶ τὰς γηραιὰς σάρκας. Ἀγαπῶ διὰ τοὺς παῖδας καὶ τὰ κολαστήρια· εἰ δὲ μὴ τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ τήν γε κόνιν τῇ κόνει, καὶ τάφος εἷς ἡμᾶς ὑπο δέξηται. Μὴ φθονήσῃς τελευτῆς ὁμοτίμου, τοῖς ὁμοτίμοις τὴν ἀρετήν. Χαίρετε, ὦ μητέρες, χαίρετε, ὦ παῖδες. Οὕτως ἐκτρέφετε τοὺς ἐξ ὑμῶν προελθόντας· οὕτως ἐκτρέφεσθε. Καλὸν ὑπόδειγμα δεδώ καμεν ὑμῖν· ἀγωνίζεσθε.»

Ιʹ. Ταῦτα ἔλεγε, καὶ προσετίθει τοῖς παισὶν ἑαυτήν. Τίνα τρόπον; Ὡς ἐπὶ νυμφῶνα τὴν πυρκαϊὰν δραμοῦσα (ταύτην γὰρ κατεκρίθη), καὶ οὐδὲ τοὺς ἄγοντας ἀναμείνασα, ἵνα μηδὲ σῶμα ψαύσειεν ἄν αγνον ἁγνοῦ καὶ γενναίου σώματος. Οὕτως ἀπέλαυσε τῆς ἱερωσύνης Ἐλεάζαρ, μυηθεὶς καὶ μυήσας τὰ ἐπουράνια, καὶ οὐ τοῖς ἔξωθεν ῥαντισμοῖς τὸν Ἰσραὴλ ἁγιάσας, ἀλλ' οἰκείοις αἵμασι, καὶ ποιήσας τὴν τε λευτὴν τελευταῖον μυστήριον· οὕτω τῆς νεότη τος οἱ παῖδες, οὐ ταῖς ἡδοναῖς δουλεύσαντες, ἀλλὰ τῶν παθῶν κυριεύσαντες, καὶ τὸ σῶμα καθαγνίσαν τες, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀπαθῆ ζωὴν μεταθέμενοι. Οὕτως ἀπέλαυσε τῆς πολυτεκνίας ἡ μήτηρ· οὕτω καὶ ζῶσιν ἐκαλλωπίσατο, καὶ ἀπελθοῦσι συνανεπαύσατο· οὓς ἐγέννησε κόσμῳ, Θεῷ παραστήσασα, καὶ τὰς ἑαυ τῆς ὠδῖνας τοῖς ἄθλοις ἀπαριθμήσασα, καὶ τοῦ τόκου τὴν ἀκολουθίαν τοῖς θανάτοις γνωρίσασα. Ἀπὸ γὰρ τοῦ πρώτου τῶν παίδων μέχρι τοῦ τελευταίου τὰ τῆς ἀθλήσεως, καὶ ὥσπερ ἐν κυμάτων ἐπαναστά σεσιν, ἄλλος ἐπ' ἄλλῳ τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐπεδείκνυτο, καὶ εἰς τὸ πάσχειν ἦν προθυμότερος, τοῖς τοῦ προει ληφότος κινδύνοις στομούμενος· ὥστε ἀγαπᾷν τὸν τύραννον, ὅτι μὴ πλειόνων ἐγεγόνει μήτηρ· μᾶλλον γὰρ ἂν ἀπῆλθε κατῃσχυμμένος, καὶ ἡττημένος. Καὶ τότε πρῶτον ἔγνω, μὴ πάντα τοῖς ὅπλοις ἰσχύων, ὁπότε παισὶν ἀόπλοις προσέβαλεν, ἑνὶ μόνῳ, τῇ εὐσε βείᾳ, καθωπλισμένοις, καὶ τῷ πάντα πάσχειν προ θυμοτέροις, ἢ δρᾷν ἐκεῖνος παρεσκευάζε το.