Mattathias, although a very old man, now put forth superhuman energies, raised an army, drove the persecuting soldiers out of the country, pulled down the heathen altars, and restored the Law; and when the time came for him to die, at the age of one hundred and forty-five years,—­if we may credit the history, for Josephus and the Apocrypha are here our chief authorities,—­he collected around him his five sons, all wise and valiant men, and enjoined them to be united among themselves, and to be faithful to the Law,—­calling to their minds the noted examples from the Hebrew Scriptures, Abraham, Joseph, Joshua, David, Elijah, who were obedient to the commandments of God.  He did not speak of patriotism, although an intense lover of his country.  He exhorted his sons to be simply obedient to the Law,—­not, probably, in the restricted and literal sense of the word, but in the idea of being faithful to God, even as Abraham was obedient before the Law was given.  The glory which he assured them they would thus win was not the eclat of victory, or even of national deliverance, but the imperishable renown which comes from righteousness.  He promised a glorious immortality to those who fell in battle in defence of the truth and of their liberties, reminding us of the promises which Mohammed made to his followers.  But the great incentive to bravery which he urged was the ultimate reward of virtue, which runs through the Scriptures, even the favor of God.  The heroes of chivalry fought for the favor of ladies, the praises of knights, and the friendship of princes; the reward of modern generals is exaltation in popular estimation, the increase of political power, the accumulation of wealth, and sometimes the consciousness of rendering important services to their country,—­an exalted patriotism, such as marked Washington and Cromwell.  But the reward which the Jewish hero promised was loftier,—­even that of the divine favor.

The aged Mattathias, having thus given his last counsels to his sons, recommended the second one, Simon, or Simeon, as the future head of the family, to whose wisdom the other brothers were to defer,—­a man whose counsel would be invaluable.  The third brother, Judas, a mighty warrior from his youth, was appointed as the leader of the forces to fight the battles of the people,—­the peculiar vocations of Saul and of David, for which they were selected to be kings.

On the death of Mattathias, mourned by all Israel as Samuel was mourned, at the age of one hundred and forty-five, and buried in the sepulchre of his fathers at Modin, Judas, called “The Maccabaeus” ("The Hammer,” as some suppose), rose up in his stead; and all his brothers helped him, and all his father’s friends, and he fought with cheerfulness the battles of Israel.  He put on armor as a hero, and was like a lion in his acts, and like a lion’s whelp roaring for prey.  He pursued and punished the Jewish transgressors of the Law, so that they lost