At this period it occurred, that a mother and her seven sons were scourged in order to compel them to eat swine's flesh. Both the mother and her sons publicly declared their resolution to die under the hands of the executioner, rather than transgress the laws of God. The tyrant then ordered their limbs to be cut off, their tongues to be cut out, and the skin of their heads to be stripped off with the hair; all which was executed in the presence of the mother, who encouraged her children to suffer their tortures bravely in the cause of their religion. She soothed their afflictions by the tenderest affections, beseeching them to fear God, and not the tyrant--and patiently to endure the torment, in the hope and expectation of a happy and glorious resurrection, where she would meet them again in mercy, and under the protection of an all gracious father, who never forsakes the truly righteous. The mother having witnessed the sufferings of all her sons, martyrs to the cause of their religion, shared the same sad fate, and under similar torments was ushered into eternity. What a noble example to parents of the present day to watch over the conduct of their children, and exert all the means in their power to induce them to walk in the path of virtue; to inculcate in them true religion, and not suffer them to think so lightly of the precepts of the Lord--for it must be admitted that the apathy evinced in the present day by all classes of society, is the sole contributing cause of the infidelity so prevalent amongst us. If we are asked what is the cause of this infidelity, the answer is, the Holy Bible is not studied sufficiently, either privately or publicly; and not being understood, is consequently rejected by thousands of those who grow up in ignorance; hence, in the hour of distress, they have nothing to console them, as in olden times, as exhibited in the history before us. During this time, Mattathias who still remained concealed in the mountains, encouraged his brethren to remain firm in their cause. He spoke so emphatically to them that he gained their confidence, in consequence of which, great numbers declared themselves true to the noble enterprise before them. Those who more particularly were devoted to the cause, were such as were called _chasideem_, or pious; of this sect we shall have to speak in a future chapter, and therefore we shall proceed with our narrative, in which we shall see the result of true piety and honest zeal in the defence of upright principles.