Hebrew Heroes: A Tale Founded on Jewish History

  CHAPTER VII.

  THE FIRST STRUGGLE.

  The arrival of Apelles, the emissary of Antiochus Epiphanes, had thrownthe town of Modin into a state of great excitement. A proclamation wasmade in the morning of the following day, that all the inhabitants,men, women, and children, should assemble in the market-place at noon,to obey the mandate of the king, by worshipping at an altar of Bacchus,which was erected at that spot. "Curses, not loud but deep," weremuttered in many a Hebrew home. Some of the Syrian soldiers had beenquartered for the night with the inhabitants of Modin. The fatted calfhad to be killed, the best wine poured out, for idolatrous guests whosevery presence polluted a banquet. The Syrians repaid the reluctanthospitality of their hosts by recital of all the horrors of thepersecution in Jerusalem. They told of the barbarities perpetrated onSolomona and her sons; shuddering women clasped their children closerto their bosoms as they heard how two mothers had been flung from thebattlements at the south side of the Temple, with their infants hunground their necks, because they had dedicated those martyr babes to Godin the way commanded by Moses. Such examples of cruelty struck terrorinto the hearts of all whose faith and courage were not strong. It wasevident that Antiochus was terribly in earnest, and that if his wrathwere aroused by opposition, the horrors which had been witnessed atJerusalem might be repeated at Modin. The plea of terrible necessityhalf silenced the consciences of many Hebrews who secretly abhorred therites of the heathen. A quantity of ivy was gathered, and twined byunwilling hands, to be worn in honour of the false deity whose worshipwas to be forced upon a reluctant people.

  A lofty shrine on which was raised a marble image of the god of wine,with his temples crowned with ivy, a bunch of grapes in his hand, andsensuality stamped on every feature, was erected in the centre of themarket-place. Before it was the altar of sacrifice, and around this,as the hour of noon approached, collected a motley crowd. There werethe white-robed priests of Bacchus, with the victims chosen forsacrifice. Men of war, both on foot and on horseback, formed asemicircle about the shrine, to enforce, if necessary, compliance withthe decree of the Syrian monarch. Apelles himself, magnificentlyattired, with tunic of Tyrian purple, jewelled sandals, and fringes ofgold, sat on a lofty seat on the right side of the altar, awaiting theappointed time when the sun should reach his meridian height. Numbersof people filled the market-place, of both sexes, and of every age, forthe soldiery had swept through Modin, forcing all the inhabitants toquit their dwellings and assemble to offer sacrifice upon the altar ofBacchus.

  Directly opposite to the altar there was one group of Hebrewsconspicuous above all the rest, and towards this group the eyes of theassembled people were frequently turned. There stood Mattathias, withsnowy beard descending to his girdle--a venerable patriarch, surroundedby his five stalwart sons. There appeared Johannan, the first-born;Simon, with his calm intellectual brow; Eleazar, with his quick glanceof fire; Jonathan; and Judas, third in order of birth, but amongstthose illustrious brethren already first in fame. In stern silence theAsmonean family watched the preparations made by the Syrian priests tocelebrate their unhallowed rites. Not a word escaped the lips of theHebrews; they stood almost as motionless as statues, only their glancesbetraying the secret indignation of their souls.

  Mattathias, as a direct descendant of Aaron through Phineas, and a manof great wisdom and spotless integrity, possessed great influencewithin his native city of Modin. Disputes were referred to hisdecision, his judgment was appealed to in cases of difficulty, and hisexample was likely to carry with it greater weight than that of anyother man in Judaea. Apelles was perfectly aware of this. "Mattathiasonce gained, all is gained," the Syrian courtier had said to the kingbefore departing on his mission to Modin; "the old man's sons have nolaw but his will, and if the Asmoneans bow their heads in worship, allJudaea will join in offering sacrifice to your gods."

  Anxious to win over by soft persuasions the only Hebrews whoseopposition could cause any difficulty in the execution of the king'scommands, when the hour for offering sacrifice had almost arrived,Apelles descended from his seat of state, and approached the Asmoneangroup. This unexpected movement of the Syrian awakened eager attentionamongst the assembled crowds.

  "Venerable Mattathias," said Apelles, saluting the old man with statelycourtesy, "your high position, your wide-spread fame, entitle you tothe place of leader in performing the solemn act by which Modin at oncedeclares her fealty to our mighty monarch, Antiochus Epiphanes, and herdevotion to the worship of Bacchus. Now, therefore, come you first andfulfil the king's commandment, like as all the heathen have done, yea,and the men of Judah also, and such as remain at Jerusalem; so shallyou and your house be in the number of the king's friends, and you andyour children shall be honoured with silver and gold and many rewards."When the Syrian had ceased speaking, the silence amongst the expectantpeople was so profound that the roll of the billows on the beach, andthe scream of a white-winged sea-bird, could be distinctly heard.

  Sternly the old man had heard Apelles to the end; then fixing upon himthe keen eyes which flashed under the white overhanging brows, likevolcano fire bursting from beneath a mountain crest of snow, hereplied, in tones so loud that they rang all over the market-place,"Though all the nations that are under the king's dominion obey him,and fall away every one from the religion of their fathers, and giveconsent to his commandments, yet will I and my sons and my brethrenwalk in the covenant of our fathers. God forbid that we should forsakethe law and the ordinances! We will not hearken to the king's words togo from our religion, either on the right hand or the left."

  Hardly had the brave words died on the ears of those who heard them,when, in strange contrast, there sounded a hymn in honour of Bacchus,and, gaily dressed and crowned with ivy, a wretched apostate Jew, eagerto win the king's favour by being the first to obey his will, cameforward singing towards the altar. All the blood of Phineas boiled inthe veins of his descendant; was the Lord of Hosts to be thus openlyinsulted, His judgments thus impiously defied! Forward sprang the oldAsmonean, as if once more endowed with youth, one moment his daggerglittered in the sunlight, the next moment the apostate groaned out hissoul upon the altar of Bacchus!

  To execute justice in this summary manner, and before all the people,was indeed to draw the sword and throw the scabbard away. A fierceshout for vengeance arose from the Syrian soldiers, and their ranksclosed around Mattathias, but not around him alone. Not for a minutehad his sons deserted his side, and now, like lions at bay, they unitedin the defence of their father. Nor were they to maintain the struggleunaided. There were Hebrews amongst the assembled crowds to whom thevoice of Mattathias had been as the trumpet-call to the war-horse;there were men who counted their holy faith as dearer than life.These, with shouts, rushed to the rescue, and the market-place of Modinbecame the scene of a hand-to-hand desperate struggle, where disciplineand numbers on the one side, devotion, heroism, and a good cause on theother, maintained a fearful strife. Though sharp, it was but a briefone. The fight was thickest near the altar--around it flowed the bloodof human victims; there the powerful arm of Judas laid Apelles lifelessin the dust. This was the crisis of the struggle, for at the fall oftheir leader the Syrians were seized with sudden panic. The horses,whose trappings had glittered so gaily, were either urged by theirriders to frantic speed, or dashed with emptied saddles through thethrong, to carry afar the news of defeat. Flight was all that was leftto the troops of Antiochus or the priests of Bacchus, and few succeededin making their escape, for many Jews who had stood aloof from thestruggle joined in the pursuit. The very women caught up stones fromthe path to fling at the flying foe; children's voices swelled the loudshout of triumph. The altar of Bacchus was thrown down with wildexultation; the idol was broken to pieces, and its fragments wererolled in the blood-stained dust. Those Jews who had shown most fearan hour before, now by more furious zeal tried to efface from otherminds and their own the memory of their former submission. One spiritseemed to animate all--the spi
rit of freedom! Modin had arisen likeSamson, when he snapped the green withes and went forth to the fightwith the strength of a giant.

  But this was an ebullition of zeal likely to be more fiery thanlasting. Mattathias little trusted that courage which only follows inthe train of success. The old man knew that the struggle with thepower of Syria was only commencing; that it would probably be longprotracted, and that it would be impracticable to defend Modin againstthe hosts which would soon be sent to assail it. The patriarch stoodin the centre of the market-place, with his foot on the fragments ofthe broken altar, and once more his loud clear voice rang far and wide."Whosoever is zealous of the law, and maintaineth the Covenant, let himfollow me! Let us away to the mountains, ye men of Judah!"

  How many of the inhabitants of Modin obeyed the call? how many resolvedto leave city and home, to dwell with the beasts in the caves of themountains? History relates that but a little band of ten, inclusive ofthe Asmoneans, by retiring to the fastnesses of the mountains, formedthe nucleus of that brotherhood of heroes who were to wrest victoryafter victory from the hosts of Syria, and win that unsullied famewhich belongs only to those who display firm endurance and devotedcourage in a righteous and holy cause.