| 18 Ελεάζαρός τις τῶν πρωτευόντων γραμματέων ἀνὴρ ἤδη προβεβηκὼς τὴν ἡλικίαν καὶ τὴν πρόσοψιν τοῦ προσώπου κάλλιστος ἀναχανὼν ἠναγκάζετο φαγεῖν ὕειον κρέας 19 ὁ δὲ τὸν με{T'} εὐκλείας θάνατον μᾶλλον ἢ τὸν μετὰ μύσους βίον ἀναδεξάμενος αὐθαιρέτως ἐπὶ τὸ τύμπανον προσῆγεν 20 προπτύσας δὲ κα{Q'} ὃν ἔδει τρόπον προσέρχεσθαι τοὺς ὑπομένοντας ἀμύνασθαι ὧν οὐ θέμις γεύσασθαι διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸ ζῆν φιλοστοργίαν 21 οἱ δὲ πρὸς τῷ παρανόμῳ σπλαγχνισμῷ τεταγμένοι διὰ τὴν ἐκ τῶν παλαιῶν χρόνων πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα γνῶσιν ἀπολαβόντες αὐτὸν κα{T'} ἰδίαν παρεκάλουν ἐνέγκαντα κρέα οἷς καθῆκον αὐτῷ χρᾶσθαι δ{I'} αὐτοῦ παρασκευασθέντα ὑποκριθῆναι δὲ ὡς ἐσθίοντα τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως προστεταγμένα τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς θυσίας κρεῶν 22 ἵνα τοῦτο πράξας ἀπολυθῇ τοῦ θανάτου καὶ διὰ τὴν ἀρχαίαν πρὸς αὐτοὺς φιλίαν τύχῃ φιλανθρωπίας 23 ὁ δὲ λογισμὸν ἀστεῖον ἀναλαβὼν καὶ ἄξιον τῆς ἡλικίας καὶ τῆς τοῦ γήρως ὑπεροχῆς καὶ τῆς ἐπικτήτου καὶ ἐπιφανοῦς πολιᾶς καὶ τῆς ἐκ παιδὸς καλλίστης ἀναστροφῆς μᾶλλον δὲ τῆς ἁγίας καὶ θεοκτίστου νομοθεσίας ἀκολούθως ἀπεφήνατο ταχέως λέγων προπέμπειν εἰς τὸν ᾅδην 24 οὐ γὰρ τῆς ἡμετέρας ἡλικίας ἄξιόν ἐστιν ὑποκριθῆναι ἵνα πολλοὶ τῶν νέων ὑπολαβόντες Ελεαζαρον τὸν ἐνενηκονταετῆ μεταβεβηκέναι εἰς ἀλλοφυλισμὸν 25 καὶ αὐτοὶ διὰ τὴν ἐμὴν ὑπόκρισιν καὶ διὰ τὸ μικρὸν καὶ ἀκαριαῖον ζῆν πλανηθῶσιν δ{I'} ἐμέ καὶ μύσος καὶ κηλῖδα τοῦ γήρως κατακτήσωμαι 26 εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἐξελοῦμαι τὴν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων τιμωρίαν ἀλλὰ τὰς τοῦ παντοκράτορος χεῖρας οὔτε ζῶν οὔτε ἀποθανὼν ἐκφεύξομαι 27 διόπερ ἀνδρείως μὲν νῦν διαλλάξας τὸν βίον τοῦ μὲν γήρως ἄξιος φανήσομαι 28 τοῖς δὲ νέοις ὑπόδειγμα γενναῖον καταλελοιπὼς εἰς τὸ προθύμως καὶ γενναίως ὑπὲρ τῶν σεμνῶν καὶ ἁγίων νόμων ἀπευθανατίζειν τοσαῦτα δὲ εἰπὼν ἐπὶ τὸ τύμπανον εὐθέως ἦλθεν 29 τῶν δὲ ἀγόντων πρὸς αὐτὸν τὴν μικρῷ πρότερον εὐμένειαν εἰς δυσμένειαν μεταβαλόντων διὰ τὸ τοὺς προειρημένους λόγους ὡς αὐτοὶ διελάμβανον ἀπόνοιαν εἶναι 30 μέλλων δὲ ταῖς πληγαῖς τελευτᾶν ἀναστενάξας εἶπεν τῷ κυρίῳ τῷ τὴν ἁγίαν γνῶσιν ἔχοντι φανερόν ἐστιν ὅτι δυνάμενος ἀπολυθῆναι τοῦ θανάτου σκληρὰς ὑποφέρω κατὰ τὸ σῶμα ἀλγηδόνας μαστιγούμενος κατὰ ψυχὴν δὲ ἡδέως διὰ τὸν αὐτοῦ φόβον ταῦτα πάσχω 31 καὶ οὗτος οὖν τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον μετήλλαξεν οὐ μόνον τοῖς νέοις ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς πλείστοις τοῦ ἔθνους τὸν ἑαυτοῦ θάνατον ὑπόδειγμα γενναιότητος καὶ μνημόσυνον ἀρετῆς καταλιπών |
18 Here was Eleazar, one of the chief scribes, a man of great age and of noble features, being required to eat swine’s flesh; but though they held his mouth open they could not force him to eat. 19 He would rather die gloriously than live defiled; on he went, of his own accord, to the place of torture, 20 scanning every step of the path that lay before him. He must endure all in patience, rather than taste, for love of life, the forbidden meat. 21 Old friends among the bystanders, out of misplaced kindness, took him aside and urged him to let meat of some other kind be brought, which he could taste without scruple; he could pretend to have obeyed the king’s will by eating the sacrilegious food, 22 and his life should no longer be forfeit. Such kind offices old friendship claimed; 23 but he thought rather of the reverence that was due to his great age, of his venerable grey hairs, of a life blamelessly lived from childhood onwards. True to the precepts of God’s holy law, he answered that they would do better to send him to his grave and have done with it. 24 It does not suit my time of life, said he, to play a part. What of many that stand here, younger than myself, who would think that Eleazar, at the age of ninety, had turned Gentile? 25 To gain a brief hour of this perishable life, shall I play a trick on them, shall I disgrace this hoary head of mine and bring down a curse on it? 26 Man’s sentence here I may avoid if I will, but God’s almighty hand, living or dead, escape I may not. 27 Let me take leave of life with a good grace, as best suits my years, 28 bequeathing to men younger than myself an example of courage; meeting, with ready resolve, an honourable death, for the sake of laws holy and august as ours are. And so without more ado he was led away to his torturing; 29 his executioners were in a rage, that but now had been gentle with him; pride, they would have it, spoke here. 30 And this was the last sigh he uttered, as he lay there dying under the lash, Lord, in thy holy wisdom this thou well knowest; I might have had life if I would, yet never a cruel pang my body endures, but my soul suffers it gladly for thy reverence. 31 Thus he died, not only to those younger men he spoke of, but to our whole race, leaving the pattern of a brave and honourable death. |
18 Igitur Eleazarus, unus de primoribus scribarum, vir ætate provectus, et vultu decorus, aperto ore hians compellebatur carnem porcinam manducare. 19 At ille gloriosissimam mortem magis quam odibilem vitam complectens, voluntarie præibat ad supplicium. 20 Intuens autem quemadmodum oporteret accedere, patienter sustinens, destinavit non admittere illicita propter vitæ amorem. 21 Hi autem qui astabant, iniqua miseratione commoti propter antiquam viri amicitiam, tollentes eum secreto rogabant afferri carnes quibus vesci ei licebat, ut simularetur manducasse sicut rex imperaverat de sacrificii carnibus, 22 ut hoc facto, a morte liberaretur: et propter veterem viri amicitiam, hanc in eo faciebant humanitatem. 23 At ille cogitare cœpit ætatis ac senectutis suæ eminentiam dignam, et ingenitæ nobilitatis canitiem, atque a puero optimæ conversationis actus: et secundum sanctæ et a Deo conditæ legis constituta, respondit cito, dicens præmitti se velle in infernum. 24 Non enim ætati nostræ dignum est, inquit, fingere: ut multi adolescentium, arbitrantes Eleazarum nonaginta annorum transisse ad vitam alienigenarum, 25 et ipsi propter meam simulationem, et propter modicum corruptibilis vitæ tempus decipiantur, et per hoc maculam atque execrationem meæ senectuti conquiram. 26 Nam etsi in præsenti tempore suppliciis hominum eripiar, sed manum Omnipotentis nec vivus, nec defunctus, effugiam. 27 Quam ob rem fortiter vita excedendo, senectute quidem dignus apparebo: 28 adolescentibus autem exemplum forte relinquam, si prompto animo ac fortiter pro gravissimis ac sanctissimis legibus honesta morte perfungar. His dictis, confestim ad supplicium trahebatur. 29 Hi autem qui eum ducebant, et paulo ante fuerant mitiores, in iram conversi sunt propter sermones ab eo dictos, quos illi per arrogantiam prolatos arbitrabantur. 30 Sed cum plagis perimeretur, ingemuit, et dixit: Domine, qui habes sanctam scientiam, manifeste tu scis quia cum a morte possem liberari, duros corporis sustineo dolores: secundum animam vero propter timorem tuum libenter hæc patior. 31 Et iste quidem hoc modo vita decessit, non solum juvenibus, sed et universæ genti memoriam mortis suæ ad exemplum virtutis et fortitudinis derelinquens. |