«dragging [him] by the hair,» the ministers of the tyrannical cruelty called the one who had suffered to repentance, asking if he would eat of the things sacrificed to idols «before his body was punished limb by limb.» But when he refused repentance, he was led to «the next torture,» maintaining his resistance until his last breath. For in no way broken nor giving in to the pains, he said these things to the impious one: «You indeed, O accursed one, release us from the present life, but the King of the world will raise us up, who have died for His laws, unto an everlasting renewal of life.» 25 And the third one, considering the pains as nothing and trampling them underfoot for the love of God, «when asked for his tongue, quickly put it forth and courageously stretched out his hands,» and said: for the sake of God's laws I have left these behind, and I hope to receive them back from God of such a kind as God would give to the champions of piety toward Him. And likewise the fourth was tortured, bearing the torments and saying that: «it is preferable when departing from men to await the hopes that come from God and to be raised up by Him» to a resurrection to which the tyrant will not be raised; for not «to life» but to reproach and to everlasting shame will he be raised. Next he tortured the fifth, who, looking at Antiochus, reproached him for being mortal, not curbing his arrogance, thinking the tyranny that lasts for a few days to be a great power. And while in this state he said that the nation had not been «forsaken» by God, who would very soon punish Antiochus «and his seed.» After him, the sixth, being at the point of death, said, «Do not be deceived»: we, paying the penalty for our own sins, so that we may be purified in our sufferings, willingly «suffer these things.» And he said to him, that he should not think he would be unpunished for attempting to «fight against God»; for one who fights against God is one who fights against those deified by the Word. 26 Last of all, Antiochus took the youngest into his hands, and convinced that this one also was a brother of those who considered such great pains as nothing and had the same resolve as they, he resorted to other approaches, thinking he would be persuaded by entreaties and by assurances with oaths about making him rich and «blessed» «if he would turn from the ways of his fathers» <and> be counted among his friends and be entrusted with royal «offices.» But when at first he accomplished nothing, as the youth was not even paying attention to the words being spoken, as things alien to his own resolve, «he called the mother and urged her to become an adviser to the lad for his salvation.» And she, having pretended that she would persuade her son concerning what he wanted, and having mocked the tyrant, stirred her son with many words about endurance, so that the youth, not waiting for the punishment to be brought on, preemptively challenged the executioners, saying: Why do you hesitate and delay? For we obey a law given from God: one must not accept a command that opposes the divine words. But also, as if a king passing sentence against those being judged under him, he pronounced judgment against the tyrant, judging him rather than being judged; and he said, that having raised his hands against the heavenly children, he would not escape «the judgment of the all-powerful, all-seeing God.» 27 And it was then possible to see the mother of so many «courageously» bearing «because of the hopes in God» the pains and deaths of her sons; for dews of piety and a spirit of holiness did not allow to be kindled in her heart the motherly fire which is kindled in many in the face of the gravest evils. And I think that these things, summarized from the Scripture, have been most usefully set forth for the matter at hand; so that we might see how powerful piety is against the harshest pains and the gravest tortures, and the love for God, which is able to do exceedingly more than any love. And with this love for God, human weakness does not coexist, being driven out as an exile from the whole soul and being able to operate not even in the least, where there is one who is able to say:

ταῖς θριξὶ περισύραντες» οἱ διάκονοι τῆς τυραννικῆς ὠμότητος ἐπὶ μετάνοιαν ἐκάλουν τὸν πεπονθότα ἐπερω τῶντες, εἰ φάγεται τῶν εἰδωλοθύτων «πρὶν τιμωρηθῆναι τὸ σῶμα κατὰ μέλος» αὐτῷ. ὡς δ' ἠρνήσατο τὴν μετάνοιαν, ἐπὶ «τὴν ἑξῆς» ἤχθη «βάσανον» τηρῶν τὴν ἔνστασιν μέχρι τῆς ἐσχάτης ἀναπνοῆς. μηδαμῶς γὰρ θραυσθεὶς μηδὲ ἐνδοὺς πρὸς τοὺς πόνους ταῦτα εἶπε πρὸς τὸν ἀσεβῆ· «σὺ μᾶλλον, ἀλάστορ, ἐκ τοῦ παρόντος ἡμᾶς ζῆν ἀπολύεις, ὁ δὲ τοῦ κόσμου βασιλεὺς ἀποθανόντας ἡμᾶς ὑπὲρ τῶν αὐτοῦ νόμων εἰς αἰώνιον ἀναβίωσιν ζωῆς ἀναστήσει.» 25 Καὶ ὁ τρίτος δὲ ἐν οὐδενὶ τὰς ἀλγηδόνας τιθέμενος καὶ διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἀγάπην καταπατῶν αὐτὰς «τὴν γλῶσσαν αἰτηθεὶς ταχέως προέβαλε καὶ τὰς χεῖρας εὐθαρσῶς προέτεινεν» εἶπε τε· διὰ τοὺς τοῦ θεοῦ νόμους ταῦτα καταλιπὼν ἐλπίζω αὐτὰ ἀπὸ θεοῦ κομίσασθαι τοιαῦτα, οἷα ἂν ἀποδῴη θεὸς τοῖς τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν εὐσεβείας ἀθληταῖς. ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ὁ τέταρτος ἐβασανίζετο τὰς αἰκίας φέρων καὶ λέγων ὅτι· «αἱρετὸν μεταλλάσσοντας ἀπ' ἀνθρώπων τὰς ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ προσδοκᾶν ἐλπίδας καὶ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἀναστήσεσθαι» ἀνάστασιν, ἣν οὐκ ἀναστήσεται ὁ τύραννος· οὐ γὰρ «εἰς ζωὴν» ἀλλὰ εἰς ὀνειδισμὸν καὶ εἰς αἰσχύνην αἰώνιον ἀναστήσεται. ἑξῆς τὸν πέμπτον ᾐκίσατο, ὃς ἐνιδὼν τῷ Ἀντιόχῳ ὠνείδισεν αὐτῷ τὸ φθαρτὸν μὴ κολούων αὐτοῦ τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν, νομίζοντος μεγάλην εἶναι ἐξουσίαν τὴν ἐν ὀλίγαις ἡμέραις τυραννίδα. ἔφασκε δὲ καὶ ἐν τούτοις ὢν τὸ ἔθνος μὴ «καταλελεῖφθαι» ὑπὸ θεοῦ τοῦ ὅσον οὐδέπω τὸν Ἀντίοχον «καὶ τὸ σπέρμα» αὐτοῦ βασανίσοντος. μετὰ τοῦτον ὁ ἕκτος πρὸς τῷ ἀποθνῄσκειν γενόμενος «μὴ πλα νῶ», εἶπεν· ἡμεῖς ὑπὲρ ἡμετέρων ἁμαρτημάτων δίκας τίνοντες, ἵν' ἐν τοῖς πόνοις καθαρισθῶμεν, ἑκουσίως «ταῦτα πάσχομεν». ἔλεγέ τε αὐτῷ, ὡς ἄρα οὐ χρὴ νομίζειν αὐτὸν ἀθῷον ἔσεσθαι «θεομαχεῖν» ἐπι χειροῦντα· θεομάχος γὰρ ὁ τοῖς ἀπὸ τοῦ λόγου θεοποιηθεῖσι μα χόμενος. 26 Τελευταῖον δὲ τὸν νεώτερον ὁ Ἀντίοχος εἰς χεῖρας λαβὼν καὶ πεισθεὶς καὶ τοῦτον εἶναι ἀδελφὸν τῶν ἐν οὐδενὶ τὰς τηλικαύτας ἀλγηδόνας θεμένων καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχειν ἐκείνοις προαίρεσιν ἄλλαις ἐφόδοις ἐχρῆτο, νομίζων αὐτὸν παρακλήσεσι πεισθήσεσθαι καὶ ταῖς δι' ὅρκων πιστώσεσι περὶ τοῦ πλούσιον αὐτὸν ποιήσειν καὶ «μακα ριστὸν» «μεταθέμενόν τε ἀπὸ τῶν πατρίων» <καὶ> εἰς φίλους ἐγκατα ταχθέντα καὶ «χρείας» βασιλικὰς ἐμπιστευθέντα. ὡς δ' οὐδὲν ἤνυε τὴν ἀρχὴν μηδὲ προσέχοντος τοῦ νεανίου ὡς ἀλλοτρίοις τῆς ἑαυτοῦ προαι ρέσεως τοῖς λεγομένοις, «προσκαλεσάμενος τὴν μητέρα παρῄνει γί νεσθαι τοῦ μειρακίου σύμβουλον ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ». ἡ δὲ ἐπιδειξαμένη πείσειν περὶ ὧν ἤθελε τὸν υἱὸν καὶ χλευάσασα τὸν τύραννον πολλοὺς τῷ υἱῷ ἐκίνει λόγους περὶ ὑπομονῆς, ὡς τὸν νεανίαν μὴ περιμείναντα τὴν ἐπιφερομένην κόλασιν προλαβόντα προκαλέσασθαι τοὺς δημίους λέγοντα· τί μέλλετε καὶ βραδύνετε; ἀκούομεν γὰρ νόμου τοῦ δοθέν τος ἀπὸ θεοῦ· οὐ προσιέναι δεῖ πρόσταγμα ἐναντιούμενον θείοις λό γοις. ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡσπερεὶ βασιλεὺς ἀποφαινόμενος κατὰ τῶν ὑπ' αὐτῷ δικαζομένων ἀπεφήνατο κρίσιν τὴν κατὰ τοῦ τυράννου, δικάζων μᾶλλον αὐτὸν ἤπερ δικαζόμενος· καὶ ἔφασκεν, ὡς ἄρα ἐπὶ τοὺς οὐρα νίους παῖδας ἀράμενος χεῖρας, οὐκ ἐκφεύξεται «τὴν τοῦ παντοκράτο ρος ἐπόπτου θεοῦ κρίσιν.» 27 Ἦν δὲ τότε τὴν μητέρα τῶν τοσούτων ἰδεῖν «εὐψύχως» φέρουσαν «διὰ τὰς ἐπὶ τὸν θεὸν ἐλπίδας» τοὺς πόνους καὶ τοὺς θανά τους τῶν υἱῶν· δρόσοι γὰρ εὐσεβείας καὶ πνεῦμα ὁσιότητος οὐκ εἴων ἀνάπτεσθαι ἐν τοῖς σπλάγχνοις αὐτῆς τὸ μητρικὸν καὶ ἐν πολλαῖς ἀναφλεγόμενον ὡς ἐπὶ βαρυτάτοις κακοῖς πῦρ. νομίζω δὲ καὶ ταῦτα χρησιμώτατα πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον ἐπιτεμόμενος ἀπὸ τῆς γραφῆς παρατεθεῖσθαι· ἵν' ἴδωμεν, ὅσον δύναται κατὰ τῶν τραχυτάτων πό νων καὶ τῶν βαρυτάτων βασάνων εὐσέβεια καὶ τὸ πρὸς θεὸν φίλτρον παντὸς φίλτρου καθ' ὑπερβολὴν πλεῖον δυνάμενον. τούτῳ δὲ τῷ πρὸς θεὸν φίλτρῳ ἀνθρωπίνη ἀσθένεια οὐ συμπολιτεύεται ὑπερόριος ἀφ' ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς ἐλαυνομένη καὶ οὐδὲ κατὰ ποσὸν ἐνεργεῖν δυναμένη, ὅπου ἐστὶν ὁ οἷός τε εἰπεῖν·