All things are clean to clean men;
to the unbelievers and the unclean there is nothing clean.
A hare was then unclean, because he is [not] cloven-footed,
and a swine was then unclean because it chewed not its cud.
Some were then foul, which now are also foul;
but it will be too tedious to discourse here fully
concerning the clean beasts or concerning the unclean
in the old law, which one eats now nevertheless.
Then would Eleazar manfully die
rather than he would transgress God's law,
and would not swallow the bit of the bacon
which they stuck in his mouth, because Moses forbade [them]
to eat swine; as we before said.
Then the executioners prayed him, for old acquaintance sake,
that they might bring him unforbidden, flesh,
and he should do as if he ate of the sacrifice-bacon,
and so with that deception save himself.
Then spake Eleazar, 'I am old to practise deceit,
and the young ones will think that I am ready to transgress
God's ordinance for [the sake of] this short life,
and then shall my deception be to their destruction,
and I myself shall be an opponent [to God] by such an example.
Though I be saved from men's cruelty,
I may not anywhere escape from the Almighty
in life or in death; but I shall afford an example
to the young folk, if I boldly die
an honourable death for the holy law.'
Then became the executioners, who had addressed him kindly,
very much angered because of that answer,
and they dragged him to the tortures that he might be killed;
and he then ended his life with faith.
