The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1868-04-19


and gentle deeds are not much in vogus.
Death to us, orr not, to you" d tie cry q
; the stout hearted. "You have appealed 10 force
the S9ns h 1s5 t We aGseR1 s
ours, II we can, will be red with yOurs.n
!. Mattathiag and his five sons then fled to the
4 The name that has been given to the iron
sinewed family, the Maccabees, is of uncertain
derivation. Some very plausibly take it from
the Hebrew of Exodus +; XIV H.: mi Camoka
| the Gods, o JehovahW The initial letters NJ.
c. B. j., from the word Maccabee. and it is Ger
tain that these letters were the motto that
grandfather Of old Matssthias was named As.
lnoneus and from him the family is named in
HISTORY the Asmonean. Il -
Soon after the flight to the hills, word came
to them that one thousand Of their neighbors
had persisted through their refusing to defend
themselves on the Sabbath. Mattathias, as wise
as he was devout, enjoined on those who had
gathered to his newly unfurled banner the duty
of defense ON every day of the week. Then
fastening to take the aggressive in the noble
cause of religion and fatherland, he and his
| followers worsted the heather Oppressors on
every side; pulled down the affairs that had
! been erected on the sacred soil, and smote the
Eapostates, who were numerous, without mercy.
But the old man an! worn out by glorious tolls too
first year of the wal, the first victim out of this
martyr family to freedom and pure worship.
His son Judas, who was, on his fathers death,
acknowledged as the head of the revolted ma
ton, ranks as the first in the time of the Asmo-
mean princes, who, in all, ruled for one hundred
and twenty-nine years, namely, from 166 before
Christ till 81 before Christ. Few more remark
able men have ever appeared on earth than
Judas Maccabaeus. OF great strength of body,
prudent, and almost ever ON his guard, distin-
guished by indomitable courage, perfectly dis
interested, possessed of great military talent a.
patriot ready to die at any moment for his
country, his is one of the names that ought to
be familiar to every American. No one ever
defy and overthrow large bodies. In four en-
gagements he defeated the generals of Anti
ochus, and thus in three years and half after
the foul Dissertation of the temple, he rescued
it from Syrian hands and dedicated it anew.
Epiphanes, hurrying to Jerusalem, resolved
to make it grave, but was in sudden and
strange manner struck by the hand of God and
died tormented by lOathsome ulcers. The
us that in his dying moments his mind was
thronged with horrors, as if it were living
hell. In body and soul he was fire.
But at this crisis the neighboring tribes con-
spired against the Jews, for fendish has often
been the rancor of Polytheists against the
MOnotheists the wOrshipers of one God Edom-
ties or Idumeans, Ammorites, Phenicians of
Tyre and Sidom, made common cause against
this small and singular nation which protested
that God was one. Judas routed them all. AS
stern as the modern Scottish martinets, he pun
ishCu oo'SACiy ohS tAcdCHeIy Ou pdTU u Ills
own troops.
Then from the south, with eighty thousand
men and eighty elephants, came the new Syrian
king, Antochus Equator who laid siege to
Bethsura, a fortress which the provident Judas
had strongly fortified the Jewish hero not
only relieved the garrison, but dispersed this
immense host. -Thereupon- treaty was con-
cluded, the jews being permitted the enjoyment
of their religion and laws under the Maccabean
ther ruler.
But this treaty was of short duration There
wa a on in prn ft,sAr a1nl
Jerusalem, and these soldiers were constantly |
harrassing the citizens by bloody saflies Judas |
was not the man to submit to this He as
sauited this stronghold, and Equator, on his |
side, renewed the war, marching into Palestine |
ut the head of one hundred thousand men, |
thirty-two elephants, and three hundred war
by the siege of Bethsura. In night attack
Judas slew four thousand and retired I'M
harmed. AS day broke, his brother
Eleazer, seeing an elephant larger than usual,
concluded that the king was mounted on it
and might perish in its fall, cut his way through
to where it was, crept under it and pierced it
with his spear, but it fell and crushed him to
death.
-bisheartened by this disastsr the patriot
troops withdrew, and Bethsura was obliged to
captulate to the Syrians. But Mt this moment
out in the heart of the Syrian empire; the king
was glad to grant the Jews an advantageous
peace, and Judas was appointed governor under
the king. This was in the year l63, B.: C.
Soon after Equator appointed to the high
priesthood q creature Of his, who was more
than half a heather. Judas refused to receive
him, on which third attempt was made by
the Seleucidean monarch to subdue him; but
i'll vain. The Asmonean hero twice defeated
the royal troops, which far outnumbered his,
and in the, second action slew the imperial
general. To strengthen himself he entered
into an alliance. with Rome, the first time of
her appearance in the arena of Jewish affairs.
The same year witnessed his death, the year
16O, Is. c. Syrian army invading the land
he met it with Il body of three Thousand men.
hundred fed:7 With this handful he impetu-
ously attacked the whole host He put the
riplt wing a OH Int laft VII