4 Maccabees 2:1-3

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Compatibility of the Law with Reason

2 And why is it amazing that the desires of the soul for the enjoyment of beauty are rendered powerless? ² It is for this reason, certainly, that the temperate Joseph is praised, because by mental effort^[a] he overcame the prospect of pleasure. ³ For when he was young and in his prime for intercourse, by reason he nullified the frenzy^[b] of the passions.^(A)