4 Maccabees 1:13-35

Common English Bible

Definition of terms

¹³ So we are exploring the question of whether clear thinking has full power over the emotions. ¹⁴ We need to define what careful reasoning is, what we mean by emotion, how many different kinds of emotions there are, and whether clear thinking has full power over all these things. ¹⁵ Clear thinking then is the mind-set that uses plain logic to choose the life of wisdom. ¹⁶ Next, wisdom is the knowledge of divine and human behavior and what causes the behavior. ¹⁷ This knowledge in turn comes from the instruction provided by the Law, through which we learn about divine matters reverently and human matters to our advantage. ¹⁸ The different kinds of wisdom are good judgment, justice, courage, and self-control. ¹⁹ Good judgment is the ruler among these kinds of wisdom, because clear thinking controls the emotions with it. ²⁰ There are two general categories of emotions: pleasure and pain. Each of these shows up in different ways in the body and in the soul.

²¹ Several other emotions accompany pleasure and pain. ²² Desire comes before pleasure, and joy follows it. ²³ Fear comes before pain, and grief follows it. ²⁴ Anger is a mixture of both pleasure and pain, as anyone who thinks about the experience would agree. ²⁵ With pleasure there is a tendency to form bad habits, and this is the most varied of the emotions. ²⁶ In the soul, bad habits show up as pride, love of money, thirst for honor, delight in conflict, and envy. ²⁷ In the body, they show up as eating anything and everything, the tendency to overeat, and indulging in binge eating in private. ²⁸ Just as pleasure and pain are two plants growing from the body and the soul, so there are many branches shooting off from each of these plants. ²⁹ But clear thinking, like an expert gardener, pulls out the weeds, trims, supports, waters, and cares for the plants in every way. So it tames the jungle of habits and emotions. ³⁰ Clear thinking is the guide of moral character, but it has full power over the emotions.

clear thinking and the Law

Consider first the way in which clear thinking shows that it is supreme over the emotions through the exercise of self-control. ³¹ Self-control means having control over your desires. ³² Some desires come from the inner person, and others come from the body. Clear thinking obviously has control over both. ³³ Otherwise, how is it that when we are attracted by foods that we aren’t allowed to eat, we can walk away from the pleasure that we would get from them? Isn’t it because clear thinking is in control over our desires? I think so. ³⁴ We keep our distance when we crave any of the foods that are forbidden to us by the Law, whether it is seafood, birds, animals, or anything else, because of the self-control that comes from clear thinking. ³⁵ The sensible mind curbs the drives of the appetite, keeping them in check, and clear thinking silences the impulses of our bodies.