“... The ability of pious Jews to follow particular statutes of Torah provides the proof that reason can master the passions by the power of self-control (1:31–35; 2:1–6), but the Torah also provides the discipline—the exercise regimen—that trains and empowers a person’s reason to overcome his or her inclinations and desires (2:7–9a, perhaps also 9b–14). [...] The author of 4 Maccabees is entirely positive about the capacity of the human being to do what is good. The fact that the Law says “you will not covet” is, for him, sufficient proof that human beings are able not to covet [...]. There is none of Paul’s agonizing over how the commandment prohibiting coveting aroused all manner of covetousness in him (whether Rom 7:7–24 is to be taken as a reflection of Paul’s pre-Christian life, his post-conversion life, or the hypothetical struggles of the persona he adopts for a “speech in character”). Rather, the author assures those who adopt and live in line with this internal hierarchy (Torah guiding the mind; the mind controlling the passions and inclinations) will attain the ideal of the Greek sage. ...”