When Malice vies with Envy to proclaim
That Israel had the courage to excel
In all the arts of Peace—but to rebel
Against the tyrant and achieve the proud fame
By dint of prowess worthy of its name,
And, sword in hand, to glory as he fell
Upon the battlefield, he did not dare—
Then, O, then read the record of the deeds
The Maccabees accomplished, how they freed
Their kinsmen from the yoke; and in the flare
Of trumpet sound and triumph scorned the greed
Of pillage; and but hastened to repair
The hallowed Shrine polluted by the foe,
Whose wanton boasts the Lord of Hosts laid low.