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"Captive, depart in peace," said the son of Mattathias; "but ere you quit this spot, solemnly vow silence as to what you have witnessed here." Lycidas instantly obeyed. "May I share the torments of those whose grave but for your mercy I should have shared, if I ever prove false to my oath," cried the Greek.
When Mattathias and his sons heard what was being done at Jerusalem, they clothed themselves in sackcloth and wept, praying, and fasting continually, beseeching God to forgive His people, and to put away their sins. In a little while the king's officers came to the heathen altar at Modin, the town where the old priest lived. 'Sacrifice to Jupiter, our master's god! they said.
But many disregarded him, and these underwent bitter punishment. They were tortured or scourged or crucified. Now, at this time there dwelt at Modin a priest named Mattathias, a citizen of Jerusalem. He had five sons, one of whom, Judas, was called Maccabæus.
"Venerable Mattathias," said Apelles, saluting the old man with stately courtesy, "your high position, your wide-spread fame, entitle you to the place of leader in performing the solemn act by which Modin at once declares her fealty to our mighty monarch, Antiochus Epiphanes, and her devotion to the worship of Bacchus.
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