1When Eleazar had in this manner answered the exhortations of the tyrant, the spear-bearers came up, and rudely hauled Eleazar to the instruments of torture.

2And first, they stripped the old man, adorned as he was with the comeliness of piety.

3Then tying back his arms and hands, they disdainfully used him with stripes;

4a herald opposite crying out, Obey the commands of the king.

5But Eleazar, the high-minded and truly noble, as one tortured in a dream, regarded it not at all.

6But raising his eyes on high to heaven, the old man’s flesh was stripped off by the scourges, and his blood streamed down, and his sides were pierced through.

7And falling upon the ground, from his body having no power to support the pains, he yet kept his reasoning upright and unbending.

8Then one of the harsh spear-bearers leaped upon his belly as he was falling, to force him upright.

9But he endured the pains, and despised the cruelty, and persevered through the indignities;

10and like a noble athlete, the old man, when struck, vanquished his torturers.

11His countenance sweating, and he panting for breath, he was admired by the very torturers for his courage.

12Wherefore, partly in pity for his old age,

13partly from the sympathy of acquaintance, and partly in admiration of his endurance, some of the attendants of the king said,

14Why do you unreasonably destroy yourself, O Eleazar, with these miseries?

15We will bring you some meat cooked by yourself, and do you save yourself by pretending that you have eaten swine’s flesh.

16And Eleazar, as though the advice more painfully tortured him, cried out,

17Let not us who are children of Abraham be so evil advised as by giving way to make use of an unbecoming pretense;

18for it were irrational, if having lived up to old age in all truth, and having scrupulously guarded our character for it, we should now turn back,

19and ourselves should become a pattern of impiety to the young, as being an example of pollution eating.

20It would be disgraceful if we should live on some short time, and that scorned by all men for cowardice,

21and be condemned by the tyrant for unmanliness, by not contending to the death for our divine law.

22Wherefore do you, O children of Abraham, die nobly for your religion.

23Ye spear-bearers of the tyrant, why do ye linger?

24Beholding him so high-minded against misery, and not changing at their pity, they led him to the fire:

25then with their wickedly contrived instruments they burnt him on the fire, and poured stinking fluids down into his nostrils.

26And he being at length burnt down to the bones, and about to expire, raised his eyes God-ward, and said,

27Thou knowest, O God, that when I might have been saved, I am slain for the sake of the law by tortures of fire.

28Be merciful to thy people, and be satisfied with the punishment of me on their account.

29Let my blood be a purification for them, and take my life in recompense for theirs.

30Thus speaking, the holy man departed, noble in his torments, and even to the agonies of death resisted in his reasoning for the sake of the law.

31Confessedly, therefore, religious reasoning is master of the passions.

32For had the passions been superior to reasoning, I would have given them the witness of this mastery.

33But now, since reasoning conquered the passions, we befittingly award it the authority of first place.

34And it is but fair that we should allow, that the power belongeth to reasoning, since it mastereth external miseries.

35Ridiculous would it be were it not so; and I prove that reasoning hath not only mastered pains, but that it is also superior to the pleasures, and withstandeth them.