hast devised all manner of evil against the Hebrews, shalt in no wise escape the hands of God. For we are suffering because of our own sins; and if for rebuke and chastening our living Lord hath been angered a little while, yet shall he again be reconciled with his own servants. But thou, O unholy man and of all most vile, be not vainly lifted up in thy wild pride with uncertain hopes, raising thy hand against the heavenly children; for not yet hast thou escaped the judgement of the Almighty God that seeth all things. For these our brethren, having endured a short pain that bringeth everlasting life, have now died under God's covenant; but thou, through the judgement of God, shalt receive in just measure the penalties of thine arrogancy. But I, as my brethren, give up both body and soul for the laws of our fathers, calling upon God that he may speedily become gracious to the nation; and that thou amidst trials and plagues mayest confess that he alone is God; and that in me and my brethren thou mayest stay the wrath of the Almighty, which hath been justly brought upon our whole

race.

But the king, falling into a rage, handled him worse than all the rest, being exasperated at his mocking. So he also died pure from pollution, putting his whole trust in the Lord. And last of all after her sons the mother died.

'The king of the world shall raise up us, who have died for his laws, unto an eternal renewal of life.' Here we find a firm belief in and a clear enunciation of the doctrine of the Resurrection. As in the Book of Daniel (where I shall refer to it at greater length) so here too the Resurrection seems limited to the Jews.

'From heaven I possess these; and from him I hope to receive these back again.' Thus what is hoped for is a resurrection in bodily shape. But whether the new body is to be of similar material to the old body or even material at all, the writer does not explicitly declare.

"The hopes which are given by God.' The allusion is probably to certain passages in the Law and the Prophets interpreted of the Resurrection, perhaps more especially to the definite statement in the Book of Isaiah (p. 367), 'Thy dead shall arise,' and to the Book of Daniel.

As for thee, thou shalt have no resurrection unto life.' A far more merciful doctrine than that of eternal punishment, which

EVERLASTING LIFE

675

even a genius like Dante could think consonant with divine justice and love, and the fit subject of a poem.

'We suffer these things for our own doings, as sinning against our own God.' An excellent illustration of a phase of religious thought which exercised us in the Psalter. The pure and holy martyr so identifies himself with his people, and the race is so thoroughly regarded as a living unity, that the innocent individual finds no difficulty in looking upon his own sufferings as due to the sins of others, whether predecessors or contemporaries. And these sore sufferings and culminating martyrdoms, undergone voluntarily and out of pure obedience to the Divine law, will finally expiate the offences of Israel. Hence the last brother expresses the hope that 'in him and his brethren,' the wrath' of God which has been 'justly brought upon the whole race of Israel' may now be 'stayed.'

'In mercy giveth back to you again both your spirit and your life.' The present for the future. The allusion is to the resurrection, when to the risen body God will restore the spirit of life.

'In the mercy of God I may receive thee again with thy brethren.' That is, on the day of Resurrection.

It could not have been very long after the author of the Second Book of the Maccabees had written his history, that the famous prayer was composed which finds so prominent a place in our liturgy :

'Thou, O Lord, art mighty for ever; thou quickenest the dead, thou art mighty to save. Thou sustainest the living with lovingkindness, quickenest the dead with great mercy, supportest the falling, healest the sick, loosest the bound, and keepest thy faith to them that sleep in the dust. Who is like unto thee, Lord of mighty acts, and who resembleth thee, O king, who killest and quickenest, and causest salvation to spring forth? Yea, faithful art thou to quicken the dead. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who quickenest the dead."

The presence of Antiochus is certainly unhistorical, as he did not return into Judæa after his retreat from Egypt. How far that inaccuracy vitiates the whole story is doubtful, but the number of the sons gives rise to suspicion, as well as the silence of the First Book of the Maccabees. The elaboration of torture seems also happily to be very unlikely. But the spirit of the tale, and the heroism displayed by mother and sons alike, are in full accordance with fact. The story became very famous in both Jewish and Christian literature.

§ 17. Mattathias of Modin.-The blood of the martyrs was not to be shed in vain. And the story of the men who, by the will

of the world's Spirit and Ruler, preserved the religion of Amos and Isaiah has now to be told. At last we have reached the story of the Maccabees, to which allusion has so often been made, and to which we have been leading up so long. This is how the First Book describes the beginning of the movement.

In those days rose up Mattathias the son of John, the son of Simeon, a priest of the sons of Joarib, from Jerusalem; and he dwelt at Modin. And he had five sons, John, who was surnamed Gaddis; Simon, who was called Thassi; Judas, who was called Maccabæus; Eleazar, who was called Avaran; Jonathan, who was called Apphus.

And he saw the blasphemies that were committed in Judah and in Jerusalem, and he said,

"Woe is me! wherefore was I born to see the destruction of my people, and the destruction of the holy city, and to dwell there, when it was given into the hand of the enemy, the sanctuary into the hand of aliens? Her temple is become as a man that was glorious: her vessels of glory are carried away into captivity, her infants are slain in her streets, her young men with the sword of the enemy. What nation hath not inherited her palaces, and gotten possession of her spoils? her adorning is all taken away; instead of a free woman she is become a bond woman: and, behold, our holy things and our beauty and our glory are laid waste, and the Gentiles have profaned them. Wherefore should we live any longer?'

And Mattathias and his sons rent their clothes, and put on sackcloth, and mourned exceedingly.

And the king's officers, that were enforcing the apostasy, came into the city Modin to sacrifice. And many of Israel came unto them, and Mattathias and his sons were gathered together. And the king's officers answered and spake to Mattathias, saying, 'Thou art a ruler and an honourable and great man in this city, and strengthened with sons and brethren: now therefore come thou first and do the commandment of the king, as all the nations have done, and the men of Judah, and they that remain in Jerusalem: and thou and thy house shall be in the number of the king's Friends, and thou and thy sons shall be honoured with silver and gold and many gifts.'

And Mattathias answered and said with a loud voice,

THE ZEAL OF MATTATHIAS

677

'If all the nations that are in the house of the king's dominion hearken unto him, to fall away each one from the worship of his fathers, and have made choice to follow his commandments, yet will I and my sons and my brethren walk in the covenant of our fathers. Heaven forbid that we should forsake the law and the ordinances. We will not hearken to the king's words, to go aside from our worship, on the right hand, or on the left.'

And when he had left speaking these words, there came a Jew in the sight of all to sacrifice on the altar which was at Modin, according to the king's commandment. And Mattathias saw it, and his zeal was kindled, and his reins trembled, and he shewed forth his wrath according to judgement, and ran, and slew him upon the altar. And the king's officer, who compelled men to sacrifice, he killed at that time, and pulled down the altar. And he was zealous for the law, even as Phinehas did unto Zimri the son of Salu.

And Mattathias cried out in the city with a loud voice, saying, 'Whosoever is zealous for the law, and maintaineth the covenant, let him come forth after me.' And he and his sons fled into the mountains, and forsook all that they had in the city.

Then many that sought after justice and judgement went down into the wilderness, to dwell there, they, and their sons, and their wives, and their cattle; because evils were multiplied upon them. And it was told the king's officers, and the forces that were in Jerusalem, the city of David, that certain men, who had broken the king's commandment, were gone down into the secret places in the wilderness; and many pursued after them, and having overtaken them, they encamped against them, and set the battle in array against them on the sabbath day. And they said unto them, Thus far. Come forth, and do according to the word of the king, and ye shall live.' And they said, 'We will not come forth, neither will we do the word of the king, to profane the sabbath day.' And they hasted to give them battle. And they answered them not, neither cast they a stone at them, nor stopped up the secret places, saying, 'Let us die all in our innocency: heaven and earth witness over us, that ye put us to death without trial.' And they rose up against them in battle on the sabbath, and they died,

they and their wives and their children, and their cattle, to the number of a thousand souls.

And Mattathias and his friends knew it, and they mourned over them exceedingly. And one said to another, 'If we all do as our brethren have done, and fight not against the Gentiles for our lives and our ordinances, they will now quickly destroy us from off the earth.' And they took counsel on that day, saying, 'Whosoever shall come against us to battle on the sabbath day, let us fight against him, and we shall in no wise all die, as our brethren died in the secret places.'

Then were gathered together unto them a company of Hasidæans, mighty men of Israel, every one that offered himself willingly for the law. And all they that fled from the evils were added to them, and became a stay unto them. And they mustered a host, and smote sinners in their anger, and lawless men in their wrath and the rest fled to the Gentiles for safety. And Mattathias and his friends went round about, and pulled down the altars; and they pursued after the sons of pride, and the work prospered in their hand. And they rescued the law out of the hand of the Gentiles, and out of the hand of the kings, neither suffered they the sinner to triumph.

'Her temple is become as a man that was glorious.' The text is corrupt and meaningless. The Hebrew probably ran: 'Her temple is become like the house of a despicable man.'

The king's Friends.' A title of high office in the Syrian court. 'Even as Phinehas.' The reference is to a story in the priestly law-book which I have not given in Part I.

'A company of Hasidæans.' The Hebrew word was Chasidim, i.e. the Pious, or Loving. We have often met the word in the Psalms. It has now become the title of a Party, namely, of those who were most zealous for the Law. The Chasidim were not identical with the party of Mattathias and the Maccabeans, and later on they severed themselves from them. It was the Chasidim who allowed themselves to be slaughtered without resistance upon the Sabbath day. But now for a while they joined themselves to Mattathias, and fought under his leadership.

§ 18. The death of Mattathias.-In such a manner did the movement and the revolt begin. It was no season for half measures. Violence was answered by violence, and the Maccabean warriors of