Commentarii in Job

What befits everyone who sets out to make an examination of any account, having first laid down beforehand the matters pertaining to the account's subject, must be done in the present case, especially since the book before us, being most beneficial, does not have a meaning that is easy to despise. For in it the whole account concerning the judgments of God is set in motion by Job, and how none of the painful things that happen to human beings comes about apart from God's permission, and other doctrinal insights, and further, in the preceding account, concerning endurance and patience and contempt for things indifferent—I mean money and possessions and having many children and having good children—in addition to these, the manifestation of free will and the teaching of various doctrines, so that, as God grants, we shall see in each of the oracles into which these things enter. If, then, we must begin with the subject, let us begin. The change in the value of substances appears to be of different kinds, both when bodies are corrupted and when they grow, and also when a change arising from choice occurs. And all those changes that come about in relation to the body show neither a blameworthy nor a praiseworthy subject. For no one is acceptable either on account of the corruption of the body or on account of its growth; for these things are outside what is up to us. But all those things that are done by reason when the agent is moved by choice, these show him either blameworthy or praiseworthy. And this follows those who change from vice to virtue or from virtue to vice. A rational substance, then, has become an apostate from God, "having stiffened its neck before the Lord Almighty.

This one, however, is the devil—not one who has become a devil by nature, for "God did not make death"—but one who was perfect and virtuous, for "God made all things exceedingly good." Having fallen from the right condition and blessedness, she envies those who turn toward it; for "by the envy of the devil death entered into the world." For she reckons herself as cast out, saying to herself: "I must hinder those who possess a heavenly citizenship, so that they may not ascend through the very things from which I have fallen." For she considers the progress of human beings to be her own accusation, because she herself is "the morning star" of the heavens and "the star that rises at dawn," shining brightly, but because she prepared those who were to be enlightened by the "sun of righteousness," she fell from the heavenly places. These, however, hasten toward the height of virtuous conduct—those who have a greater inclination toward wickedness. For "the mind of human beings is earnestly set upon evil things," which the apostle, wishing to establish, says: "Will we not judge angels?"—making clear that we who live the heavenly life on earth will condemn those who did not keep their own order, just as the Ninevites will condemn the Jews who did not obey the Savior, since they themselves were persuaded by the preaching of Jonah when he proclaimed repentance. But also what is said about the queen of Sheba is a confirmation of the same thought.

For a woman and a queen, and one who stood far away and was about to cross through foreign provinces, despising all these things, hastened to be obedient to the wisdom of Solomon, while the Jews had the Teacher near and were unwilling to be benefited by him at all, although he was greater than Solomon. For that one, having been made wise from himself, benefited others, but the Savior, in addition to the benefit from his words, also displayed through signs and wonders a miraculous power sufficient to change even the most unbelieving. For resurrections of the dead, recoveries of sight for the blind, cleansings of lepers, and in general the healing of "every disease and sickness" were accomplished by him. This, then, was the devilish envy—that human beings hastened to lay hold of those things from which he himself had fallen. Therefore he does not neglect his abuse against the race; for our "adversary the devil walks about like a lion seeking whom he may devour." Thus also, having cast the thought of love of money into Judas, he made him a betrayer of the Savior, entering into his mind as into his own den. Thus also Hymenaeus and Alexander "made shipwreck concerning the faith," suffering this because they had become a devilish instrument through their own free choice, whom also the blessed Paul "handed over to Satan, so that they might be taught not to blaspheme." And in general the devil's ambush against human beings is manifold, "working in the sons of disobedience," nor does he keep away from the virtuous, but he rushes upon them also. For this is what the oracle means when it advises:

If a spirit of the one who has authority rises up against you, do not leave your place." He does attempt and descend against him, but the one who has become secure in virtue prevents the plot. And Job, therefore, being a perfect man and wholly abstaining from evil and partaking of virtue, "did not give a place to the devil"; for it is said, "just, true, blameless, God-fearing, abstaining from every evil thing," which proves him most perfect, not only abstaining from evil but also reaching the summit of virtue. For then one truly has virtue, when by choice he abstains from the opposing dispositions. For this the blessed David teaches, saying, "Turn away from evil and do good." But also the saying, "Cease from your wickednesses, learn to do good," is of the same mind. Job, then, abstained from evil not as infants do, but as one perfectly practicing virtue. And his praise came from courage, not as though he fell short of the other virtues—for all of them followed him, dependent on one another—but from his mastery in respect of courage, which is also the case with the beatitudes; for the "poor in spirit" has the kingdom of God and is adorned with the others and is meek and just. Job therefore had the other virtues as well, as is shown in what follows; for as he was ready for hospitality, so also for almsgiving, "becoming a father to orphans, a helper to the weak, an eye to the blind, and a foot to the lame.

The devil therefore attempted to move from such great virtue this man who had been so secured on every side by practical and intellectual virtue—for it was on account of this that he was called true, so as also to be blameless. Often, as was likely, he suggested thoughts which the saint did not accept, in accordance with the one who says: "When the evil one turned away from me, I did not know it," which means: often, when the adversary approached, I did not waver, so as to know him present through sinning. For he did not fail to know that he was present insofar as the saint was fighting, but he did not know him in such a way as to accept the experience of his base thoughts. But he let loose as a final plot that of the request, thinking that through this assault he would move him from virtue—which he also did in the case of the patriarch Abram, if anyone is pleased to accept the book of the covenant. Having made many and frequent attempts against the saint and having been defeated in all of them, since he hoped to pervert Abraham, who was disposed toward his late-born and beloved son, he brings forward the request of the child, which God makes on his own behalf, wishing to put the adversary to shame, saying: "Take your son, your beloved one whom you have loved," rousing the father's affection through the varied words, so that he might make manifest his courage, which he preserved by disclosing what was to happen neither to his wife nor to his servants, lest anything become an obstacle to the right action. But he did not waver even at the words of the child when he said: "Father, behold the fire and the wood.

Where is the sheep for the whole burnt offering?" Therefore, believing that even if the child should die, God is able to raise him up, he did not yield to the command, but would have slain his only-begotten son, had not God, accepting his readiness, preserved the son for him. And that the devil is of such a plotting purpose we are also taught from the Gospel, where the Savior says to his own disciples: "Behold, Satan has demanded you, to sift you as wheat." And the book also bears its title as a namesake of the man, correspondingly, since the whole book contains the account concerning him, no other being compared. And it is fitting to add that which has been sought by some: whose the book might be. Some assign it to Saint Esdras, but others say that because at the end of the book it is written, as in the archives—since the friends of Job, being kings, were pleased with his success—they deposited the record concerning this. But let the lover of what is good inquire about this, if he does not approve what has been said. And Job is the fifth from Abraham, as this very thing is also said at the end of the book. There was a certain man in the land of Ausitis, whose name was Job. And that man was true, blameless, just, God-fearing, abstaining from every evil thing. And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters, and his cattle were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys feeding in herds, and service exceedingly great, and great works were his upon the earth.

Correspondingly, when the account is about to describe the surpassing virtue of the blessed Job, it mentions both his region and his blameless manner of life, his many children and goodly children, and his wealth in herds and in other things, in order to teach that he looked down on none of these as worthless things—for he was not proud when he had them—since he was deprived of all these things in the trial. And by recounting this, it also shows the purity of his soul, that the devil did not demand him as a man who had been neglected. For before the contest against the adversary, it was necessary to describe the greatness of the athlete, that he kept away from every evil thing and was not content with this only, but also cultivated perfection, which is a refutation of those who say that even children and irrational animals keep away from an evil thing. For this man was both righteous and blameless. Those who make this very claim also in the case of the first psalm are refuted. For they say that "to be blessed for not having walked in the counsel of the ungodly and for not having sat in the seat of the pestilent" will fit even irrational animals and infants. But they are refuted by what follows; for it has been said: "But his will was in the law of the Lord, and in his law he will meditate day and night," which does not fit infants and irrational animals. And it is well that he lived in Ausitis, which is interpreted as "counsel"; for the righteous man does nothing without counsel, but his house and city is pure counsel. "And that man was well-born of those from the rising of the sun." And this is possible also in the perceptible sense.

But if it is understood in an anagogical sense, it might be said that the righteous man acquires noble birth, not from men, but from the light of the "sun of righteousness" shining upon him. "And his sons, going about together with one another, held a drinking feast each day, taking along at the same time also their three sisters to eat and drink with them." Well-bred were the sons of Job: they made their associations and their drinking not with others but with one another, according to what is said in the Psalms: "Behold now, what is good or what is pleasant, but that brothers dwell together in the same place." Presenting virtue in harmony, they were also free from faction in the realm of the senses, "going about with one another" and not far off; for they made their gatherings "in the house of their brother, the elder"—not only in time but perhaps also in virtue—being educated by him in what was for their benefit. Well also is it to take along their own sisters, which is a clear sign of chastity and orderliness. "And when the days of the drinking feast were completed, Job sent and purified them, rising early and offering

sacrifices for them according to their number, and one calf for a sin offering for their souls,” according to him who says, “From the night my spirit rises early toward you, O God,” and, “My God, I rise early toward you,” and, “In the morning I will present myself to you and will look upon you.” The blessed Job rose early in the morning not for another work but to bring sacrifice to God on behalf of his children “according to their number,” that is, for each one and in good order; for nothing is confused in the diligent man. But even after this he brought the calf on their behalf in his own manner, also accustoming them to the conduct of children.

12 Thus then he purified them after the drinking was completed, showing, along with the perceptible purification, the purifications that contribute to the understanding. But if the “calf” brought on behalf of all signifies the Savior who “endured the cross” for the human race, consider also that he is called “fatted” in the parable of the gospel because he is nourishing of divine teaching. And do not marvel if the calf hints at the Savior; for Job was not uninitiated in the visitation of the Savior; for he said concerning him: “the one who is about to subdue the great sea monster.” “For Job said: lest at any time in their mind my sons have thought evil against God.” Great purity is shown in this concerning the children; for not seeing any perceptible sin of theirs, he brought the sacrifice concerning things in the mind, reckoning that human weakness and softness in youth often has a slip. Therefore also the holy Paul said:

I am conscious of nothing against myself, but not in this am I justified,” and the psalmist: “From my hidden faults cleanse me.” Hence it must be observed that they were not subjected to such a death on account of sins. “Thus then Job did all the days of his life.” The uninterruptedness of the holy man’s intensity is shown here, as one who does not at one time practice virtue and at another time not. David also says this about himself in the psalm: “I will bless the Lord at all times.” “And as this day came to be, behold, the angels came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came with them.” The word, displaying the form of the expression, narrated the matters concerning the standing of the angels in a more narrative manner in the phrase “and as this day came to be,” while we understand correspondingly the fitting time and the suitable condition of the standing of the angels before the Lord, who offered their own services and their own labor toward God. While they were taking their stand, the devil also stood there. Even if he is many-folded and many-turned, he does not escape God. It has been said that he too came with the angels, not “to stand before” him, but he too is known by the all-observing eye of God. And the hypocritical character of the devil may also be what the saying indicates, since he “transforms himself” indeed “into an angel of light” and thereby escapes the notice of those born, but he cannot escape the notice of God, the originator of all things, and of him “through whom all things” exist, and of the Holy Spirit; for the Trinity is of the same essence.

For just as it has been said of the Word that "he is discerning of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and there is no creature hidden before him; but all things are naked and laid bare to his eyes," so also it is said of the Spirit: "For the Spirit searches all things." And concerning the Father it has been said by the apostles: "You, Lord, know the hearts of all." And rightly it belongs to the Godhead alone to see the thoughts. For if this were also evident to created beings who do not possess God's goodness, they would have been alienated from those who sin, so as not to help them but to turn away from them, shrinking back because of the magnitude of their evils, lest they share the danger by interceding on behalf of such people. But even if from certain indications they grasped the devil's intent, yet at any rate,

since they themselves "stood before the Lord" when he came, and the devil with them in hypocrisy, rightly they referred to God the judgment concerning his standing, which indeed happened. For God himself says to him the following: "And the Lord said to the devil: From where have you come?" He said this to him so that, hearing it, we might understand the meaning of "From where have you come?" These angels of ours, who are commanded by me to perform divine services, in fulfilling them stand before me, accomplishing this very thing as their standing—for their standing is not spatial—but you, from where? For you are not my minister. "From where," then, "have you come?" You will find the saying similar to this spoken by God to Adam: "Adam, where are you?" The phrase "From where have you come?" was a refutation of the devil's vain movement. "And the devil answered the Lord and said:

Having gone around the earth and walked about what is under heaven, I am present." If the answer that stood in him in response to God's questioning was the devil's thought, it would be seen by God as his own. For God, wishing to speak his own will to a created being, places it in that one's mind. But the devil, when he answers the Lord, is said to answer not in this way but as he chooses to answer. And what is his answer? Let us see. "Having gone around," he says, "the earth and walked about what is under heaven, I am present." One should not be surprised if, being a subtle spirit, he passed through the places just mentioned. For not even God convicted him as lying. And well is the phrase "having gone around"—for he was not encompassing it. But he goes around as "an adversary seeking whom he may devour," so that he may drag away those who obey his evil suggestions and may demand those who resist, which indeed happened in the case of Job. Hence he does not use force, nor does he come upon us beyond our strength. For it is commanded to those who are able to resist: "Resist, firm in the faith," and: "If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, do not leave your place." And it is said that God also provides the strength—he who will give "also the outcome, that you may be able to endure." But it should be noted that the earth and what is under heaven are different places, the earth being under heaven, but the places under heaven not always being earth. And the devil was going around those places too, rejoicing in "the spiritual forces of wickedness," the demons. These, then, he says, having gone around, I am present—which must be understood thus: that...

Having gone through all these things and found that the blessed Job was unable to receive anything of ours, I am present—that is, I show what is hidden to your inescapable eye, wishing to demand him for myself. "And the Lord said to him: Have you then set your mind against my servant Job, because there is no man on the earth like him, blameless, true, God-fearing, abstaining from every evil thing?" The phrase "the Lord said to the devil" must be understood in the same way as the preceding passages, since it is not incongruous if what God wishes the devil to understand is implanted for his most severe refutation, because God did not omit what he intended. For it must not be supposed that God's conversation with the devil was purposeless; for nothing is purposeless with him who established all things, but even this was for the benefit, so that he might be put to shame by the comparison with the righteous and blameless man. The Lord has called Job "servant" according to both meanings; for he was his servant according to what was said by the psalmist: "I am your servant and the son of your handmaid," and a son, having been deemed worthy of the grace of the Spirit from his service and genuine servitude, and himself saying according to the wise Paul: "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." For "the one who does righteousness has been born of God." It is also emphatic of the devil's being rational that it was said: "Have you set your mind"; for it is proper to a rational being to think. And this is said about the devil not only here, but also in the passage:

But you said in your mind, "I will ascend to heaven," which, as has been said, is indicative of his being rational. But if thinking is present in him, it must be asked whether repentance is also. For after understanding comes thinking, and after thinking, repentance. And just as thinking lies in his will, so perhaps does repentance. But let the one who does not grant these things see to it that he does not unwittingly make God the cause of his own evil—for he does not possess reason and mind. But even if he differs in some respect, yet by being rational he shares in common with those who are of this nature. For even if humans are mortal, we say that the fellowship is not according to the mortal, but according to the rational, which is common to both immortals and mortals. And thinking is not present only to the virtuous or only to the wicked. For just as the use of perception is common to both the virtuous and the wicked—though the virtuous man, managing it well, does not use it in the manner of the wicked man who looks up to heaven and makes it a god—so too is thinking: found in both the virtuous and the wicked, it differs according to its use. "Therefore attend," he says, "with your mind against my servant Job, that there is none like him among those upon the earth." Not in vain is "of those upon the earth" added. For there are rational beings like him and above him that exist above the earth. For it is not the same to say "there is none like him" as to say "there is none like him among those upon the earth." For how could he not surpass all those upon the earth, when the God of all things testifies to him in the words:

A blameless man, true, God-fearing, abstaining from every evil thing." But properly, he abstains from evil who is by nature capable of receiving it. For then praise also has a place, when one who is able to be base abstains from evil by hatred toward it. For not everyone who does not use evil is said to abstain from it; for infants, who do not use it, one would not properly say abstain from evil; for he who does this does it by judgment and reason. But these things require a fitness for evil and virtue. And no one would say that an infant abstains from licentiousness or is temperate; for he has not yet come to the discernment of these things. But having discussed these matters in what has gone before, when we also set forth the things from the first psalm, we demonstrated that these things are God-fearing according to him. For that one is truly God-fearing who reveres a life of reverence, while those who revere things not to be revered are impious. And the "true" is present in the blessed one both in respect of the contemplation of truth and in respect of what is unfeigned in moral matters; for he who pursues virtue for some reason is not true. "And the devil answered and said before the Lord." One may plausibly say regarding "before the Lord" that he spoke in opposition to the testimony of God, being a lover of evil, or that he thought boldly; for evil is shameless. At any rate, in this way he also brings forward what he adds from an evil-loving mind, things that diminish the virtue of the righteous man. For what does he say? "Does Job revere the Lord for nothing? Have you not fenced around his outside and the inside of his house and the outside of all that he has, round about?

You blessed the works of his hands, and you made his cattle many upon the earth. It is characteristic of those who love evil and are hostile to virtue not to reckon the good things of their neighbors as genuine, but to say in every case that this man is righteous through inability to do wrong, this man is temperate through what is called foolishness, this man has no regard for money and gain because of his unfitness for these things, sometimes even reckoning the gentle man a hypocrite, and in general no base person accepts anyone's virtue as genuine. The devil, being the originator of this wickedness, thinking such things about Job, made them manifest to the one who knows what is hidden, saying that Job is righteous because of external goods. The phrase "you fenced him about" is spoken instead of "safety," giving the impression that because of these things he is indestructible and has no avenue of attack, reckoning that the abundance of indifferent things is the cause of his virtue—which, saying it incorrectly, he was refuted. For even when these were taken away, he remained likewise unconquered. And in truth, an abundance of wealth contributes something to virtue for the one who uses it well, but by itself it contributes nothing to this. And the blessed Job showed his virtue inflexible both in poverty and in wealth. "But send forth your hand and touch all that he has; surely he will bless you to your face." We must understand "his hand" to be spoken in various ways: either the punitive and ministering power for this purpose, which divine Scripture is accustomed to call "vessels of wrath," or the protective and guarding power, as it is said:

No one is able to snatch them out of the hand of my Father." It is possible also for the Son to receive into a hand that shelters and strengthens those who are under it, as it is said: "The right hand of the Lord has exalted me; the right hand of the Lord has shown strength." But the word "touch" perhaps here means "to strike," in place of: bring grievous things upon. For we have this customarily borne in the Scripture. For the passage "Do not touch my anointed ones" does not forbid simple contact, but the audacity against the saints for the purpose of harm. And "the one who touches you is as one who touches the apple of his eye" likewise signifies the one who touches for the purpose of doing harm. But if the devil has become an apostate and "has stiffened his neck before the Lord Almighty," nevertheless he has some reverence toward the Creator of all things. For he says: "Surely he will bless you to your face," using this word in place of "will curse" or "will blaspheme," so that he may not bring the harsher word against God, as it has been said he utters. "Then the Lord said to the devil: Behold, all that he has I give into your hand, but do not touch him." The things set forth are illustrative of the fact that no one falls into temptations without divine permission. For God says: "Behold, I have given all things into your hand." But so that it may become clear that he makes the permission with measure, it is added: "But do not touch him." Hence neither by fate nor by chance do circumstances befall, but by the permission of God—in the present instance for the demonstration of Job's virtue, but sometimes also for other causes, about which it will be said in what follows.

And the devil went out from the Lord." The term is used more properly of the devil, because he comes to be outside the Lord, beyond Cain. For it was said of that one too: "For Cain went out from the face of the Lord God." And to go out means that he is without the contemplation of God. So this one too goes out always, being among those who are outside, even if he came feigning to be with the attendants of God. "And it was as this day, the sons of Job and his daughters were drinking wine in the house of their elder brother." Consequently he mentions both the day and the gathering of the children, so that in this way the account of their death might also be credible—they died all at once, in one moment, by the collapse of the house. ... in custom often; ... of the many, since for the most part those who come together into such gatherings think they are drinking, not only drinking but also eating and speaking as at a gathering. And consider the present passage allegorically as well, whether perhaps they were being given to drink the "wine that gladdens the heart of man" by the elder brother, who begins the divine instruction. "And behold, an angel came to Job and said to him: the yokes of oxen were plowing, and the female donkeys were grazing beside them. And those who take captives came and took them captive, and killed the servants with swords. But I alone escaped and came to report to you." It is shown through these things that the circumstances of the attack occurred in the day: for "the yokes of oxen were plowing, and the donkeys grazing beside them.

But "angel" must be understood as "the one who announces," just as it is also recorded in the Books of Kingdoms. And it is worth observing how the things of the report, having happened all at once, also from the narrative have their heaviness and a tendency toward exceeding grief. For the yokes of oxen, while plowing, were taken captive, which produces a double sorrow, both from the loss of the animals and from the mares—no, the herds of donkeys—which provided no small income, and from the addition of the expected revenue and wealth from the sowing. The grief was exceeding, and the slaughter of the children by those taking them captive was announced along with the other things. These were sufficient, even if falsely reported, to trouble suddenly. And yet, although the events were grievous, the saint was troubled by nothing. It is said in one of the psalms concerning the saint: "He will not be afraid of evil tidings. His heart is ready to hope in the Lord." And if, according to the blessed Paul, he said: "Who shall separate the faithful from the love of God? Neither tribulation nor distress, neither persecution, nor famine nor sword," then consistently the most courageous Job remained inseparable from the love of the Lord, when so many painful things rushed upon him. For one might say that it was possible to despise the irrational animals and the labor from them. But to have heard also of the slaughter of the children and to bear this courageously demonstrates the courage and endurance of the saint. And it must be observed whether the one who was saved alone, in order to report, was not saved for a greater trial.

For if Job had remained unmoved by the things that happened to him up to the affliction of his own body, since the greater griefs were present, the lesser ones would not have been so distressing. "While he was still speaking, another angel came and said to Job: Fire fell from heaven and consumed the sheep, and it devoured the shepherds likewise. And I alone, having been saved, came to report to you." The succession of reports of grievous things displays the extraordinary and wonderful courage of the blessed man. For observe the careful detail, how "while he was still speaking" who was reporting the former things, the second one stood by, not standing by to bring them healing, but reporting harsher things to intensify them, since such a manner of reporting grievous things is accustomed to turn the reasoning mind around and so to cloud and disturb it, as to bring it outside its proper state, dragged about by the various sorrows. But the saint was not such a man. But just as an unbreakable wall, when as many things as possible that are able to destroy it have dashed against it, remains likewise unshaken, so the holy Job, having "the foundation upon the saving rock," was not shaken when temptations came upon him. It is also worth beholding the details of the second one's report, how he rouses the grief to intensity. "Fire," he says, "fell from heaven and consumed the sheep, and it devoured the shepherds likewise." For even if the saint, having accurately understood the doctrines of the truth, knew that the permission of temptations had not come about without God, still what was happening brought him the greatest grief on account of those who were being scandalized, as though God were proceeding against him.

For the simpler sort could reckon that the raiders who came upon them and carried off the livestock and slaughtered the servants did so as enemies in war, coming in disorder and acting out of hatred, so that what happened was not from God. But when it was reported that fire had come down from heaven, there was fear lest one of the weak should reckon that virtue is nothing wonderful and is even from God, when he punishes the one who possesses it. Yet even when this had happened, the saint did not give way, becoming wholly absorbed in the contemplation of God. For neither does the devil have power to bring fire down from heaven, but this came about by divine judgment, so that God, who gave him authority over Job's possessions, might demonstrate to the devil that the blessed man cares for none of human things, even if he weaves many devices. For behold, even what could not come about by his own power God has brought to pass, in order that by demonstrating the greatness of the athlete he might convict the adversary, since Job bore nobly no small or paltry assault, but the destruction of seven thousand sheep and, clearly, no small number of shepherds along with them. And again the messenger was kept safe for the reason we have already stated. "While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said to Job: The horsemen made three heads against us and surrounded the camels and took them captive and killed the servants with the sword. And I alone escaped and came to report to you." Perhaps there was an army in the country, which came upon the camels divided into three commands. For, as he says, it is easy to recognize—

The horsemen made three heads against us." It is possible that a continuous raid of enemy horsemen was then taking place and was set in motion by the devil's suggestion, and that the messenger spoke thus because it happened according to custom: "The horsemen made three heads against us." They not only carried off the camels but also killed the servants. Consider how, in a certain order, the succession of trials becomes more grievous. First, the five hundred yoke of oxen and the five hundred grazing she-donkeys are taken captive; then fire brought down from heaven upon the seven thousand sheep made the suffering harsher than the previous one. Third, the three thousand camels were taken away, and the servants were slaughtered as in the earlier cases—a costly matter and a mark of no contemptible wealth. After these things came the sudden death of the children, as will be made clear in what follows. For even if the death of the children had been announced earlier, all the preceding things would have seemed light. But when it happened in a kind of intensification of grief, their repeated succession was sharp and more able to disturb the mind—which the devil also wickedly brought about by his request. And he was put to shame, since the saint was not stung in his reasoning at all. "While he was still speaking, another messenger comes saying to Job: While your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking at the house of their elder brother, suddenly a great wind came from the desert and struck the four corners of the house, and the house fell upon your children, and they died.

But I alone escaped and came to tell you. Not in vain is it added, "while your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking," but even this was worked up by the devil, the author of evil, for the intensification of grief, so that the report of what had happened, becoming burdensome, might produce excessive sorrow in the holy man. For if the calamity of the collapse had befallen the children while they were sleeping, he would not have been so grieved, reckoning the disaster to be unfelt. But since he brought the temptation upon them while they were engaged in the necessary care of the body, this makes the grief more severe. For it is not doubtful that very many were present, as would happen on such an occasion, whom the messenger did not mention, being content with the excessive unpleasantness concerning the children, which also carries with it what follows about those present. For such a thing is customary in Scripture; for when the Savior broke the five loaves, from which he fed five thousand men, the evangelist records it saying, "apart from women and children," counting only those who were foremost. But consider also what the "spirit" is that "came from the desert and touched the four corners of the house" and brought it down—whether it was a whirlwind stirred up with exceeding violence and thus dashing against the house and bringing it down, or a spirit serving the devil, or the devil himself. For this too is a great, evil spirit, which touched the four corners of the house and brought it down. For in both ways

This is a question under investigation: whether the one who reported could know that it was a spirit in service to the devil that had done this, or the devil himself. But if the spirit is understood to be a storm-wind, then this must be taken as said in the same way as the descent of fire from heaven upon the sheep, and the things said about it apply also to this. For the devil cannot stir up a wind. And "suddenly" is added as an emphatic touch, showing that no one was able to escape the calamity, since the event happened in such a way that perhaps the messenger was found outside it. "Thus Job arose and tore his garments and sheared the hair of his head, and falling to the ground he worshiped and said: 'I myself came naked from my mother's womb, and naked I shall depart there. The Lord gave, the Lord took away; as it seemed good to the Lord, so it came to pass. May the name of the Lord be blessed.'" The divine Spirit anticipates the malice of wicked men and of the devil himself. For perhaps someone of that sort was saying that Job was not fond of his children, since he had done nothing worthy of sympathy. But his perceptiveness and courage are shown at once, in that he manifestly received the dread of the sudden and pitiable death of his children neither insensibly nor ignobly. For through "tearing his garments and shearing his head" — this being customary among the ancients for the dead — he shows his sympathy and affection. And what follows presents a most evident proof of his courage and surpassing understanding, if indeed he says: "and falling to the ground.

He did not resent it, he did not utter a sound unfitting for a prudent man, he did not bring forth a word of contempt, but he worshiped the originator of all things, being persuaded that these things do not happen outside the divine judgment and that, as they happen, they come about from the beginning in accordance with a certain right reason. For he adds even after worshiping: "Naked I came out from my mother's womb, and naked I shall depart there. The Lord gave, the Lord took away. As it seemed good to the Lord, so it happened. May the name of the Lord be blessed." For consider that along with courage, prudence is also found in the blessed Job, according to which through his words he introduces divine doctrines beneficial to the whole race of mankind. "Naked," he says, "I came out from my mother's womb, and naked I shall depart there." Concerning this, one must question those who think nothing divine about the immortality of the soul. For where will Job depart naked? Is it indeed into his mother's womb? For from there he came out naked, as the saying goes. But away with this false notion. Is it not clear that this was said for the teaching that the soul is not sown together with the body, as it seemed to some? For the blessed Paul also writes something similar to this, saying: "For we brought nothing into the world, because we can carry nothing out." For just as "to carry out" makes clear the one who has died as existing, so the one who did not bring in exists and enters from some place, bringing nothing of the kind with him. And he introduces that doctrine also, unknown to many, saying:

The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away," showing by this that his possession was not unjust, nor did it take its beginning from some improper assistance. "The Lord makes poor and makes rich," not by some irrational impulse, as those who introduce fate suppose, but so that it may be known whether the one engaged in these things bears them fittingly, along with the fact that there are also other causes—some known even to men, some secret and known only to God—which the blessed man, knowing them, says: "The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. As it seemed good to the Lord, so it also came to be." And "it seemed good" must be understood not simply, but as God having so firmly judged. Something similar to this is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, when, writing a letter about not circumcising those who come to the worship of God, the apostles said: "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us," not simply, but as having been decided. And this word might also show the adversary to be enduring, namely that Job was not handed over for the sake of casting delight into the devil who asked for him, but so that what seemed good to the Lord might come to pass. And this was what God himself said to Job: "Do you think that I have dealt with you otherwise than that you might appear righteous?" and that he does not depart from virtue either because of wealth or because of children. And one may marvel also at his thankfulness when he says: "May the name of the Lord be blessed," which is a refutation against those who are distressed at such calamities and utter such things as it is not even good to say.

But the saint is not like that—uncomprehending, inflexible in his reasoning—when such and so many things have befallen him, he becomes a herald of true doctrines and divine things. The phrase "Thus Job tore his garments" must be taken in a figurative sense. It would be plausible to say that for this reason he stripped himself: first, showing the tempter that, if you desire even the things that remain, take these too; then, symbolically showing that, like an athlete, he strips for the contest against his opponent. And the removal of the hairs would also be a symbol of reckoning all superfluous things as nothing great but contemptible to the righteous and prudent man, who is neither slackened in "relaxations" nor discomfited in "afflictions"—which the blessed David also presented when he sang: "I will bless the Lord at all times." "In all these things that happened to him, Job sinned in nothing before the Lord and did not give folly to God." A great testimony is given by the Holy Spirit to the blessed Job in the saying: "In all these things Job sinned in nothing before the Lord." For it is often possible not to sin in an obvious way, yet for a disturbance to arise in the mind, as it is said: "I was troubled and I did not speak." But the added word "before" shows that no fault occurred; for otherwise it would have been seen by God. For it is not the same thing to say "this man sinned in nothing" and "he sinned in nothing before the Lord," which indicates an surpassing purity, so that the saint faulted neither in word nor in deed nor in reasoning or thought. To this, then, God was calling the repentant when he said:

Remove the wickednesses from your souls from before my eyes," which means: let us abstain from evil not in action only, but also in thought, as God sees. This the Savior also says in the Gospel: "But when you do almsgiving, do not sound a trumpet as the hypocrites do." And again: "He who sees in secret will repay you." For just as the one who does almsgiving in this way does not receive the praise that comes from the many, so the one who does not sin before the Lord is free from every evil. And well is it said: "and he did not give folly to God." For the one who is persuaded that what happens is ordered by divine providence does not give folly to the God who governs, unlike the faithless, who often in these matters bring accusations and say, "This ought not to have happened, or that; so-and-so ought not to be poor or rich, or sick or healthy," or, "Why did the young man depart from life while the old are still in it?" And in general, those who say such things impute folly to the governance. But the saint, even when in so many circumstances, blesses the Lord, persuaded that the judgment of God is just. "And it came to pass, as this day was, that the angels of the Lord came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came in the midst of them. And the Lord said to the devil: Where do you come from? Then the devil said before the Lord: Having passed through the region under heaven and walked about the whole world, I am here." At the former approach the devil, having received authority from God, destroyed all the possessions of Job and all his children, yet he was not able to overturn the steadfast resolve of the holy Job.

For he remained the same because of his greatness of soul, and the same in his reverence for God. And reasonably so; for he was disposed thus, because God sends pleasant things and takes them away. He attempts to make a second request, striving to subject him to incurable pains against his body. Since the verses are the same as those already treated, what was said about them must also be applied to these, so that the same things are not said many times, adding only this much: that the devil's <...> is shown to be excessive. It might be said regarding the phrase "Where do you come from?": that it was spoken by the Lord to the devil most reproachfully, as one who had no achievement of his own to mention with confidence and that would put him to shame, because he had been defeated, which he himself shamelessly did not acknowledge. It should be noted that the devil does not answer in the same way now. For then he said: "Having gone around the earth and walked about under heaven, I am here," but now: "Having passed through under heaven and walked about the whole." And consider also, whether as a liar he did not wish to mention that "he went around the earth," so that he might be thought not to have assailed Job at all in the beginning, but then out of shamelessness. For he knows that nothing escapes God. Nor did he say: "Those over whom you gave me authority, I have dealt with; I have taken away Job's possessions and destroyed his children." For this was the consistent thing to say, and: "He remained the same." But he proceeds to a second request, by which he thinks to overturn the holy man's resolve. And if the devil also conceals his own intent by saying "the whole" instead of "the earth," nevertheless let us show from the Scriptures that the whole earth is often called [the earth].

For it has been said: "The whole earth was filled with the knowledge of the Lord." And Job also, in what follows, says concerning God: "He who made the whole universe in the highest places," showing that God draws a person from earth to heaven through virtue. "And the Lord said to the devil: Have you attended to my servant Job, that there is no man on earth like him, righteous, God-fearing, guileless, blameless, abstaining from every evil? And still he holds fast to guilelessness." And now the phrase "Have you attended with your mind," as was also said before, carries intensification, because after the struggle he was put to shame. For the devil, thinking that Job rejoiced in external goods as if they were good things, was saying: "Did you not fence in the things inside and the things outside his house?" But when his assault had become futile, the phrase "Have you attended" is said in place of: "You have come to know by experience" the courage "of a God-fearing, blameless, guileless man, and one abstaining from every evil." And in addition to these things, the Lord, bringing a charge, adds: "And still he holds fast to guilelessness." You have attended, then, that he will not "bless me to my face," as you supposed. It should be noted, as was said in the preceding passages: "abstaining from every evil thing," but now: "from every evil." From this it is known that evil has been called wickedness. But also what is written: "You who love the Lord, hate evil," means: hate wickedness. And guilelessness is understood to signify different things; for it indicates both the privation of wickedness and simplicity. For when the saint says: "Judge me, O God, because I walked in my guilelessness," he calls virtue guilelessness; for the one who has virtue is deprived of wickedness. And in other passages:

The blameless and simple clung to me." He calls the virtuous "blameless"—for these are simple—and simplicity is a mark of virtue. But when he says, "They deceive the hearts of the blameless," and, "The blameless man believes every word," and again, "That he may give craftiness to the blameless," he means guilelessness. And he prays that craftiness be given to these—not the craftiness that is equivalent to vice, but to prudence. Job, then, "still had blamelessness," set right in every word. "But you said, 'To destroy his possessions in vain.'" The Lord convicts the devil's vain scheming against the saints. For he labors in vain who acts without cause. If, then, the devil, hoping to seize the saint and attempting it through the destruction of his possessions and children, recognized his attempt as unaccomplished because of the saint's abundance of courage, he warred against him in vain; for nothing of what he hoped for came to pass. "And the devil answered and said to the Lord: 'Skin for skin. Whatever a man has, he will give in exchange for his soul. But indeed, stretch out your hand and touch his bones and his flesh; surely he will bless you to your face.'" Since there are three kinds of things called good—the external, which is divided into money and property and health and other things pertaining to the body, and others, those of the virtues—he, considering only the indifferent things to be good, supposes that Job also is of this mind, and shamelessly says to the Lord—we understanding "says" in accordance with what was said before—that a man would give everything in exchange for not suffering anything himself. This is persuasive indeed, and for the most part, but not true in all cases.

For many have risked their lives for the sake of money. But the evil-loving devil, disparaging the blessed man's courage and wishing to bring against him even in the matter of the body the things he had brought, says that the possession of external goods is contemptible, maliciously concealing that ten thousand have prayed to perish for the sake of their children; for thus wars too have their constitution, being waged for the sake of children; for each one, standing as a bulwark for his own children, runs extreme danger on their behalf. But the adversary, out of desire to harm Job, speaks strange things even about his possessions. Therefore, as he also said earlier: "But stretch out your hand and touch his bones and his flesh; surely he will bless you to your face." For he knows that even if he has fallen, he himself can do nothing against anyone unless God permits it, the permission being understood in this way, that it happens wisely, inasmuch as it comes about from God. "And the Lord said to the devil: Behold, I deliver him to you; only guard his soul." The Lord permits this too for our benefit, so that Job, set as a character and type of courage, as in painted tablets, might be an example of such virtue both for those then and for later generations, which has indeed come to pass. For it is possible to hear the athlete and contestant himself saying: "I know that I shall appear righteous." And the Lord, delivering him, says: "Only guard his soul," which might be understood thus: we often see derangements and distortions of the ruling faculty occurring in certain people, for which reasons again the God who knows the hidden things knows these things, when they have been delivered in this way. What the Lord says, then, is this:

...lest he cause him a torpor and a distortion of the governing faculty, but touch his flesh and bones, which you also demanded. But consider also whether instead of "do not kill him" there stands the phrase "only preserve his soul." "And the devil went out from the Lord and struck Job with a grievous sore from feet to head." Every sinner is outside God, and preeminently the devil as the originator of evil. And this has been said about him also earlier. And since it was said in the narrative that "the devil came with the angels," the figure is introduced accordingly. What follows belongs to the history: "the devil went out from the Lord." And having gone out, he does not wait, but immediately carries out the demand, surrounding him with a whole-body wound, wishing by the assault to dissolve the tension of his virtue. And he mentions the extremities, indicating that he touched the middle parts as well. "And he took a potsherd, so that he might scrape off the ichor." The verse signifies his desolation and his helplessness, with no one present to nurse him, but also with his wife absent because of her zeal for the work, from which she and he alike perhaps were fed; for in what follows the woman says to him: "And I, wandering and a servant, expecting a place from place and a house from house, when will the sun set?" — she sets forth what was said. To such an extent had his body been dissolved, that it broke down into ichor. Therefore with the potsherd he scraped himself, being in his soul without disease and unbending. "And he sat upon the dung-heap outside the city." It is likely that in those cities they did not permit one having such a body to live. Therefore outside the city upon a dung-heap...

He sat and observed the sudden change—from what prosperity and manner of life into what misery he had been brought by the tempter, so that he was even homeless and sat upon a dung heap, with no kinsman present, nor even a friend, nor his very wife, as was said before; for she does not appear to be disposed toward him without feeling, as we have set forth. "But when much time had passed, his wife said to him: How long will you endure, saying, 'Behold, I wait yet a little while, expecting the hope of my salvation'? For behold, your memorial has perished from the earth—sons and daughters, the pangs and labors of my womb, which I toiled in vain with hardships. But you yourself sit in the rottenness of worms, spending the night in the open air. And I, a wanderer and a servant, from place to place and from house to house, waiting for the sun—when will it set, that I may rest from the labors and the pains that now hold me fast? But say some word against the Lord and die." The devil, having grown feeble from so many assaults and having been unable to cast him down by the removal of his property and the destruction of his children, and moreover not even by the immoderate affliction of his body, weaves for him a third wrestling match—the conversation of his wife; perhaps through her he might deceive Job as he had Adam through Eve. For when much time had passed, since he himself had not been able to shake the athlete, the woman brings forward the things of faint-heartedness, perhaps intending to deliver him from the suffering, if he should speak a word against the Lord irrationally. And observe, word by word, how she calls him forth to faint-heartedness: "How long will you endure?

For a long time she had been suggesting to him a pretext for his illness that led to contempt—then next: "saying, 'Behold, I wait yet a little time, expecting the hope of my salvation'"—in a certain way she turns his expectation toward impossibility. For perhaps often, when she was in despair, he, setting before himself the things of good hope, stopped her contempt, which, not seeing it—since she had a weak reasoning—as though he hoped falsely, she provoked to contempt; for the irrational soul is wont always to reckon expectations uncertain. And intensifying the repayment of complete hopelessness that she supposed, she says: "For behold, your memorial has vanished from the earth." No son or daughter is left to you to preserve the memory of succession, almost saying: even if recovery should happen, the enjoyment of health is profitless when children are not, having perished when they existed. And these things, if only they were present, might perhaps have reason for patience, she says, but in addition to these, you yourself "sit in the rottenness of worms," and I go about from poverty "from place to place." Through all her words she sent forth a dart of contempt, and brings on the end of the most worthless speech, saying: "Speak some word against the Lord and die." To which one might say: how did the woman have this reasoning, that if he should speak a word against the Lord, he would die? To which one will say variously either that the adversary suggested this to her, in order that what he was eager for might be fulfilled—"if indeed he will bless you to your face"—or perhaps in those cities the one who blasphemed against the Lord was put to death by a ruler or by the citizens.

For perhaps she had never known anyone who both blasphemed and lived. Perhaps this happened then because evil had not yet spread abroad. She supposed, perhaps, that not even God would allow him to live after he had let fall a blasphemous word. And she makes this clear also by the words "For behold, your memorial has been destroyed from the earth," as if to say: you will not even have hope of ever coming to that same enjoyment of good things, which she thought were the only good things, being ignorant of the truly good things. And in her ignorance she has in another way spoken a true word; for the memorial of those who have despised this human life is heavenly. And that the Scripture confirms this, the psalmist says: "The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to destroy their memorial from the earth." For whenever

God brings painful things upon certain sinners who say "in their heart there is no God," he appears, so that when they have been helped, their memorial may be removed from the earth and, having turned to virtue, "they may be inscribed in heaven." And she spoke the things about the children as a woman reckoning that their salvation was her only hope, saying that she had borne them in vain. And pressing upon him, she also brings forward the things of her own suffering. "But he looked at her and said: You have spoken like one of the foolish women. If we received good things from the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure the evil things?" The steadfastness of his soul is shown also in this, that in such great pains he did not tolerate the word inappropriately brought forward by his wife, but also said:

You have spoken like one of the foolish women." He said this looking intently at her, the holy man perceiving from her accusations that she had brought these words forth by demonic suggestion, and being prudent he knew that the first woman who transgressed, wounded by the devil, had become the cause of Adam's transgression. Therefore he says: "You have spoken like one of the foolish women." Then, setting before her the reasoning that was fitting, he adds: "If we received good things from the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure evil things?" For it belongs to the same understanding neither to be carried away toward the pleasant things of the indifferent nor to be cast down by the painful things. For the one who understands matters knows that the things considered good are not such by their own nature, but follow the judgment of the one who uses them, just as again the evil things—I mean the things that cause affliction—are not in reality evil, but their use depends on the one who comes to be in them. For many with wealth have appeared both base and virtuous, as Abraham and those like him, and Pharaoh and those similar to him. Again, when many afflictions came upon them, some gave way, but others remained inflexible in their reasoning, among whom are the blessed Job and Lazarus, receiving these things as from a physician who uses cuttings and cauterizations for salvation. "In all these things that happened to him, Job sinned in nothing with his lips before the Lord." This is said a second time: first, when the first assault also came, and second, now. And then it was said: "In all these things that happened to him, Job sinned in nothing before the Lord," but now:

In all these things that happened to him, Job did not sin with his lips before the Lord." Some, then, think that "he did not sin with his lips" differs in no way from "he did not sin before the Lord," but others understand these words as follows: in the case of the loss of his possessions and the death of his children, it was said once for all that "Job did not sin before the Lord," neither in word nor in thought, whereas here the phrase "with his lips" is added, saying that perhaps some agitation also occurred, not equal to a sin—for that is a defeat—but a movement of human weakness, as the great pain throughout his whole body forced it out. The Spirit of the author, then, says—in order to show the intensity of his pain and his courage—that although his courage was forced even to an involuntary thought, he was troubled, but not so as to do anything from faint-heartedness and meanness, or to speak. The psalmist says something similar: "I was troubled and I did not speak," indicating that certain things arose in him that stirred up trouble, but having stopped their movement at the level of thought, he did not speak. In agreement with this is what Paul writes to the Corinthians: "I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning the affliction that came to us in Asia, that we were burdened beyond measure, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life. But we ourselves had the sentence of death in ourselves, so that we might not be confident in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead." "When his three friends heard of all the evils that had come upon him,

Each came from his own country to him: Eliphaz the king of the Temanites, Baldad the tyrant of the Sauchites, Sophar the king of the Minaites. Strange things are for the most part widely heard of, especially if these things happen concerning persons of note. Since Job, then, was among the most renowned both for wealth and for virtue, it is reasonable that his friends, having heard of the severity of the things that had befallen him, came—not from one place, but each from his own country—moved by sympathy, and that too though they were kings, and for this reason did not look down on him who had come into so great a change. "Tyrant" he says either as a synonym for "king"—the time not yet knowing the name as reproachful—or as a distinction of rule from "king." This also in Proverbs: "By me kings reign, and tyrants through me hold sway over the earth." And these came to him, no other cause having brought them. The saying is useful for sympathy, that we not overlook the things of love and mutual affection because of the changes that fall upon us. "And they came to him with one accord to comfort and to visit him." They have come to do both things, since he had happened to suffer both things; for he had been deprived both of property and of children, and his whole body was held together by the wound. "With one accord" they came to him, either with much eagerness, or because, having separate dwellings, they had agreed together and come, so that in this way they might come to him for comfort; for they did not perceive the evils as having ceased but as already at work.

Seeing him from afar, they did not recognize him, and crying out with a loud voice they wept, each tearing his own robe and sprinkling earth upon themselves. They sat beside him seven days and seven nights. In this the things set forth teach two things: the courage of the blessed man—since others bore it with difficulty because of the immensity of what had befallen him—and the sympathy of the friends, who not only came but, having looked upon him, did not recognize him because of the disease, since it had altered even the features of his form; and crying out with a great voice they wept, each tearing his robe and sprinkling ashes, all of which, as has been said, both demonstrates the courage of the holy man and their sympathy. For he remained unbending, which one might well marvel at, and through these things Job was not provoked to contempt by the fact that the suffering struck others with amazement, which is what customarily happens to men. And it is a mark of sympathy that they stayed with him seven days and seven nights. Therefore one must not despise the endurance shown toward the sick and helpless, who are led by these things to sympathy. And none of them spoke. For they saw the blow, that it was terrible and exceedingly great. Those who had come for consolation fell silent at the magnitude of what had befallen him. And reasonably they first employed sympathy; for this is especially wont to accomplish its purpose in those who are being consoled. For nothing was available to them even for care, since the suffering surpassed the help that comes through medical treatment. And it is likely that, since they had a certain opinion of him as a wise man, they chose to be silent out of reverence, not daring to bring forward a word before him.

After this Job opened his mouth and cursed his day, saying:" The wise man is not an idle babbler, nor does he utter with his tongue things that are not able to happen. He curses not the day, that is, a span of time, but the things that happened in it. For it is the custom of Scripture to call what happens a "day." The psalmist teaches this, saying: "In an evil day the Lord will deliver him," calling the evil day not the temporal interval but the evil things that happen in them; and what is said by Paul, "that the days are evil," is of the same meaning. Thus one might say that for these people the day is good because of what happens, and for those people it is bad. For to the people of Israel, who crossed the Red Sea unexpectedly, it would be a good day, but to the Egyptians a bad one; for "they sank like lead in the mighty water." "Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night in which they said: Behold, a male. Let that night be darkness, and let not the Lord seek it out from above, nor let light come into it; but let darkness and the shadow of death take it." It is worth considering whether, in the case of the most wise Job and his courage, it is right to curse the day in which he was born and the night in which they said: Behold, a male, and how that night itself is darkness although every night is so—for he says, "He called the light day and the darkness he called night"—and what it is that he prays: that the day not be sought out from above by the Lord, nor a voice come into it, and that darkness and the shadow of death take it. Some of these things are not even able to happen.

For to pray for such curses concerning the past day, which no longer has any substance, would not be the mark of a wise man. But if those who love the literal sense persist in the literal interpretation of the saying, they undermine the courage of the saint, which the devil was not able to undermine, by supposing that he had such contempt for it; and if he had, the devil would not in that way have been put to shame over his courage, nor would the Lord have said to him: "Do you think that I have dealt with you otherwise than that you might appear righteous?" Therefore, since the literal sense of the saying has no reasonable and fitting place for the saint, the matters before us must be considered according to the laws of allegory. But before beginning this, it is fitting to say something beforehand that contributes to what lies before us: the soul of man, being immortal and not only of a different substance from the body but also of a more divine one, was joined to it for various reasons—either because its own worth brought about communion with bodies by its own inclination and desire, or because it was united to this body for the sake of the usefulness of those who need benefit. For it was not sown together with the body, as those who are ignorant of its greatness think, on the grounds that it is impossible for an incorporeal substance to come into being from bodily seed; nor again is it molded after the body, since it exists prior to it. For it does not bring anything into being from non-being after "God rested from all his works." For what does it say? "What is that which has come to be, that which will be, and what is that which has been made, that which will be made, and there is nothing entirely new under the sun. Who will speak and say?

Behold, this is new; it has already come into being in the ages that are coming, from before us." And there is testimony both that it is through one's own wickedness and that it is for the usefulness of others that souls are brought into life and entwined with bodies: Jeremiah, when he hears, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came forth from the womb I sanctified you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations"; and Jacob and Esau, concerning whom God says, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated," while they were still in the womb; and John, "leaping and exulting" in his mother's womb. For these things show that souls are not contemporaneous with bodies. For the one who exults in his mother's womb and partakes of the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb, and the one who is hated before he is born, and another who is loved—these things do not befall them without cause. But it is laborious, not only on account of one's own faults but also for the benefit of others, to be joined to a body, and most wretched. For just as it is not fitting, on account of those who conquer in war, to praise the cause of war, which is an occasion of many unpleasant things, so it is not consistent, on account of those who succeed, to praise the entrance into life, but rather to be persuaded that some, having been tried even by their own doing, have come to the utmost evil, and have become the cause of toils for those who come for the benefit of others. Therefore Job, considering the evils that come about for this reason to be a painful day and worthy of a curse, says, "Let the day perish in which I was born." And he says this on behalf of the whole race. For since the saint knew that there is great confusion among those

What happened in his case happened to those who know that he suffers undeservedly; he traces the account back to the whole cause, almost saying: "If it were not for the fall of the many, there would be no need of a character of courage." For just as, when many have fallen into affliction because of disorder, the affectionate physician will reasonably curse the disorder, so the blessed one, in treating the matter, [says] that these things do not happen without judgment, but because some sequence and consequence calls for those who have fallen to be benefited, he curses the day of the fall of human beings, making the account common [to all]. He uses the words in a more narrative fashion, so that the figure of speech might be made clear. "So let the cause perish," he says, "and let it no longer exist, the cause that brought about the entry of life." Then, since it also happens that a birth takes place in the night, he takes up the name of the night as well: "Let that night be darkness," so that what is said may be: let them no longer walk, but as in darkness let them not find the way of the generation of evil, being hindered, as if one were speaking also about those afflicted by disorder: let the affairs of the disorderly no longer prosper. "And let the Lord not seek it out from above." For it was fitting for the holy one to pray that rational beings be driven toward virtue and no longer suffer a turning back to a worse condition—for it is not the same—as those who introduce metensomatosis. "Nor let light come into it." Let the impulse toward worse things be hindered, while those who act remain without illumination, so that, according to what is said, "the light of the impious shall be quenched.

Let darkness and the shadow of death take it up," so that this thought may become a stumbling block to those who incline toward evil, hindering their impulse toward evil, since they think that the undertaking is deadly. Similar to this is what is said by the prophet: "I will build up her ways with thorns, and her path she shall surely not find." For it is a great thing that evil itself be hindered both by fear and by ignorance. For in this way one will come to hate it. "Let gloom come upon it, let that day and that night be cursed, let darkness carry it away." These ought not to be reckoned as curses but as prayers for the cessation of evils. For according to what was narrated beforehand, one should pray that the cause of the fall and its path be unknown, "so that he may not have prosperity in evils for a man." For the desire of virtue makes the road to evil more unknown, and when it is intensified it produces complete forgetfulness of its activity; for this would be "let darkness carry it away." And it—I mean evil itself—is also worthy of curses, since it prepares those who practice it to have what is worthy of curses. "Let it not be among the days of the year, nor be counted among the days of the months, but let that night be pain." The saint does not wish the day of the fall to be in number and memory, since it becomes painful through repentance because of that dark cause, and is called night because of its toilsomeness and lack of light, so that from repentance some correction may come about for those who withdraw from the night, and he may make the one who has come to be in repentance numbered, so as to be included in that year about which the psalmist says:

You will bless the crown of the year of your goodness," and to sing as one advancing: "You will watch over me in your counsel, in your power." "And let not gladness come upon it, nor rejoicing." Being a lover of brethren, the saint prays that no one take delight or pleasure in a fall. For often, when we see someone rushing toward evil deeds, we pray, saying, "May he not obtain what he is eager for." With this same mind the saint also sings as a prayer, not as a curse: "Let the deceitful lips be made dumb, which speak lawlessness against the righteous with pride and contempt." And what else would it mean for unjust lips to be made dumb than that they cease speaking unjustly, once the speaker recognizes that such a thing is unseemly? So this one too prays that no one be so perverted as to think that it is a joy or produces gladness to fall into the condition that leads to human weakness. This the Savior himself says: "It was good for that man if he had not been born," and it is shown in Ecclesiastes: "Better than both of these is he who has not yet come to be." But for one not yet born—clearly, with respect to this birth—if good befalls him, it does not befall him without existence. "But let him curse it, the one cursing that day, the one who is about to subdue the great sea monster." This prayer is for the release of the cause of what has happened—evils for those who have come into the way of generation by their own doing, but labors for those who suffer on account of others.

He prays, therefore, that the cause of the human fall, which is truly worthy of a curse, may fall under a curse, so that those who come to be in it, recognizing that it is full of cursing, may flee from it as from one cursed by God. And it is well that he joined to the God who curses not another activity of his but the one according to the economy. For he did not say, "But the one cursing that day shall curse it," and then add "the Creator" or "the Teacher"—to whom these things also follow—but "the one who is about to subdue the great sea monster." For since the devil has also been called a sea monster, having become the cause of the fall of men, and on behalf of this fall, that it may be dissolved, he offers up the prayer, he uses the prophecy in sequence, as "the devil, who has the power of death, shall be abolished," for he foresaw this too, being moved by the Holy Spirit in the purity of his soul, as also authority was given to the saints "to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon all the power of the enemy," so that others also, coming to their senses from these things, may be delivered from the sin that holds them fast, as through advancing in virtue they hear: "You shall tread upon the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample the lion and the dragon," who is the devil. For it has been said concerning him: "Our adversary the devil walks about like a lion seeking whom he may devour," and again: "You crushed the heads of the dragon." And well is the phrase "the one who is about to" used, indicating the matter of the incarnation. For it was not fitting for bare divinity to abolish the devil, but through this temple of the Word that has come to be, who has come to be from the seed of the one deceived and harmed by the devil.

For it was a boast for him if he had subdued him by bare divinity. The different names of the devil reveal his different activities, not his essence. For he is called devil and adversary and evil one and lion and dragon and serpent and sea-monster because of his manner, as he works his wickedness in different ways, which is a refutation of the Manichaean doctrine. "Let the stars of that night be darkened, and let them not endure, and let them not come to illumination, and let them not see the morning star rising." The stars that came into being on the fourth day—the same ones until the consummation—belong to every night, and not these to this night and those to that night, so that the added phrase "of that night" leads us away from the historical account; for not one night individually has different stars, so that it might be said of them how they are darkened. Otherwise, how is it not discordant for a wise man to pray that the stars be darkened, which God made to shine, and to pray this because of the circumstances that befell him, which is destructive of his courage? Therefore these things must be referred back according to what has been set out above. The saint, then, prays that humans may not reckon as choiceworthy the things that are not choiceworthy. Since souls that love sin have certain things that lead them by the hand toward wickedness—either the teaching of evils or thoughts that lead to these things, which are called light from it because in some way they produce progress toward wickedness—he prays that these may not run together nor be a pretext for those proceeding toward wickedness, saying, "Let the stars of that night be darkened," calling night the road that leads to the human condition.

Let nothing appear bright to the souls, nor anything that leads them by the hand toward it, so that it may not become a bond of many evils in it. Let it not itself be persistent, since the rational beings have by now turned away from it because of its being unilluminated, that is, because of not finding or encountering in it such kindlings as lead toward it. And in this very thing let there not be a word of the morning star, appearing to be luminous through the persuasiveness of its seeming necessary to please oneself with this way. For often the lover of sin persists in error, either accepting the pleasure or stirring up persuasive reasonings, from which he thinks he is not erring. "Because he did not shut the gates of my mother's womb." He now appears to be stating the cause of the curse, which does not fit the sensible night, but the condition that, as we said, leads to life. For if she had not opened them, neither would the gates of the mother's womb have been opened, that is, this painful life would not have existed, nor would the sin of the race have come about through sin in such a condition. And this being so, neither would the one who lives by dispensation through this condition have been prolonged, which indeed the blessed Paul also said: "It is better to depart and be with Christ. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake," so that the one is good for a reason, the other absolutely. For it is blessed to be outside this life. At any rate, Jesus says to those who are known to him: "You are no longer of this world, but I chose you." Better, then, is not even to have experienced such a way from the beginning, even if it happens by dispensation. For it is good if no one needed a physician while being healthy.

For in this way he followed the fact that he was not in the same condition, to which both toilsome and unpleasant things also follow, as he also adds: "For he would have removed pain from my eyes." He indicates not only the pain that pressed and constrained him, but also that he saw many being perverted; for the eye of the righteous is weighed down by lawless deeds performed by the wicked. And the very fact of engaging with life is no small pain. In injustice all these things have _6_ρ_̣_ε6να, which were inactive when wickedness did not exist. But Habakkuk too sends forth such a voice, saying: "Why have you shown me labors and pains, to look upon misery and impiety?" "For why did I not die in the womb, but came forth from the belly and was not immediately destroyed? Why did knees meet me, why did I suck breasts?" He seems to decline the dispensation that is for the sake of those who are benefited, like Jonah, while also demanding instruction concerning God's judgments, which is proper to the righteous, who do not know entirely, but so that others may learn this kind of words when persons are being personified. Jeremiah, at any rate, brings a question: "You are righteous, Lord, yet I will speak judgments with you," which is indicative of knowing what happens to these, about which he asks: "Why is it that the way of the wicked prospers?" The judgment of God truly admits great variety—the unjust flourishing, while the righteous are constrained and share in abominable things—as Jeremiah himself, being holy, as also sanctified from the womb, suffered so many things as even to be cast into a pit of mire.

But Lazarus and the rich man too—the one suffering hardship, the other living amid the greatest ease—bring out the exactness of God's inscrutable judgments. And he calls this "prospering" in relation to the opinion of the many. So it is not babbling idly but asking, so that others may learn such things, that the holy man adds this. Of this, then, is also what is said in one of the psalms: "How good is God to Israel, to those upright in heart. But as for me, my feet were almost shaken, my steps had nearly slipped, because I was envious of the lawless when I saw the peace of sinners." And that he does not doubt is clear; for he says: "How good is God to Israel." These things are made understood by those who have an upright heart. But he puts himself forward as being shaken even though he is firm, assuming the persona of those who are discontented, so that thereafter, after the words of hesitation, he may bring forward the words of teaching. And Job, at any rate, when he inquires of God, wishes to learn—for this is the persona he introduces—the cause of such a manner of life. For also in relation to the cause of the

He says, receiving as it were a way in the body, that because they fell into such great wickedness as to need fellowship with the body and helpers who came for the sake of economy, so as to say the things set forth: "For why did I not die in the womb?" For the saints, out of caution, decline to take in hand the benefit of the weaker. For this very reason he also says the following: "And I came out of the womb and was not straightway destroyed?" Likewise also this: "Why did the knees meet me? And why did I suck the breasts?" For the saint wished that sickness had not befallen rational beings, so that there might not be a sequence for the pure to come for their sake by way of healing. Well also is this: "Why did the knees meet me?" which signifies a journey. For to others, because of their own faults, life here followed; but to the saints it met them not as those liable, but as those fulfilling an economy. "Now if I had slept I should have been quiet, and having slumbered I should have rested with kings, counselors of the earth." For if, he says, such a sequence and connection had not come about as that I should journey as far as this state for the sake of those needing healing—that is, if I had happened to die in the womb, not having come out of the belly and straightway being taken away, and the knees had not met me nor did I suck the breasts—that is, if it were not for the laborious economy entrusted to us, "now if I had slept I should have been quiet," that is, having obtained rest in this very life, I should have passed my time in the company of the divine and heavenly rational beings. The kings and counselors tyrannize over the earth of the meek, concerning whom it has been said:

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth," when we understand kings as those in a position of superiority, and counselors as the inferior ones whom kings rule. The parable in the Gospels contains such a proportion: "Be over ten cities or five." "They exulted in swords." The saint, not being some lover of war, did not wish to live in the ordinary way with such kings, who being ready for war consider such ways of life good, but knowing "that the struggle for the saints is not against blood and flesh," according to the apostle, "but against principalities, against powers, but against the world-rulers of this darkness, but against the spiritual forces of wickedness," against whom those who live rightly, armed with the saving "panoply," fight in the front line—he wished to have his way of life with those, not having been tested by human birth. But one of those peaceful ones happened to be the commander-in-chief of the Lord seen by Joshua the son of Nun, to whom he also said: "Are you ours or of the adversaries?" The saint, being discerning and not hasty, knows that the adversary too often "transforms himself into an angel of light." But these are also exultant, not preferring arrogance, but rejoicing in the victory over the adversaries and "exulting in God." "Or with rulers, whose gold is abundant, who filled their houses with silver." Let us receive the things just set forth, being of the same mind and fittingly for the person of the saint.

For he was not greedy for money or a flatterer, so as to think it desirable to live among the rich—he who nobly endured the loss of all his possessions and money, and did not accept wealth from friends, being no flatterer and having a free purpose and an unshaken reason, so that he wished his converse to be with such rulers and kings as were adorned with wealth. The admirable Paul writes of a good wealth, for those who think they have become rich: "Already you have become rich; you have reigned without us; and would that you had indeed reigned, so that we too might reign with you." For they possess much gold, which signifies pure understanding, approaching the pure light of knowledge in a pure manner. And these same men filled their own houses in proportion to their nature, not by spoken word, adorning their own mind by participation in the Word from surpassing purity, having nothing of such a state as that in which Job found himself for the sake of the divine dispensation—a state which, because of intercourse and converse with human beings, does not possess the likeness of such a mind undefiled, which would be wiped clean because there is no sin, but something else besides has come to be, which has happened for the sake of the benefit of others. "Or like a miscarriage coming forth from its mother's womb, or like infants who have not seen the light." To "Why then did I suck the breasts?" this is assigned in addition, through the verses spoken in between from "Now I would have lain down and been quiet" up to "who filled their houses with silver." So let the same meaning belong to what was said before.

For just as coming into generation was something he did not wish for, so too being born as a miscarriage was pleasing to him, so that he might not share further in this conduct and crushing of generation—or, if he had even become an infant, he would have returned again, so that he might not come to be in a fixed state of age after infancy. And indeed, such a matter would not really be free from perplexity and inquiry—some not having come to life, while others die again immediately after birth—which the philosopher, investigating, will know does not happen by chance, since God is just and good, and God governs all things by reason and order and measure and weight. He himself and the holy man know the judgment, and he does not say this out of anxiety, but praising the better condition and being persuaded that this is to be preferred. "There the impious burned up the fury of anger, there the weary in body rested, and together the eternal ones." The whole sequence of what was said by Job, attempting divine understanding, brings in teaching about the different origins of human beings. For having discussed that it was to be prayed for that he not approach the human path nor be born, or, once born, be straightway released from this life, he adds also a certain cause, teaching that this was pleasing to the opposing powers and was earnestly desired by them not a little. For since the account showed that souls obtained different origins because of errors, and the devil and those with him are lovers of sin, so as even to stir up to wickedness those given to it, he interprets this very thing, saying:

There the ungodly burned with the fury of anger,” calling “there” the other world beyond this one, as in “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked I shall go there.” Nevertheless, even if such a thing is welcome to the evil powers, God in his providence foresaw it and gave laws to each, preventing them from sinning, so that while living in this body they might think on heavenly things and likewise long for the dwelling there, so that one who has grown weary in the body and become utterly exhausted by wrestling against evil might have rest. For this is what the phrase means: “There those weary in the body rested.” For the saints who were well-pleasing through many things on earth, through many afflictions, from which they become weary in the body and not in the mind, have their rest together with the angels, with one accord, since these are eternal. And if those are eternal, and their rest is with one accord, it is clear that the souls too are eternal; for being immortal and having despised the things of this present time, they possess eternal things. It should be noted that “eternal” is spoken of in several ways: it signifies both that which has no beginning and that which has no end, as in “God is eternal.” For God is called eternal because he has neither beginning nor end of existence. And “eternal” is also something else, in accordance with which it is said: “the things that are not seen are eternal.” For these are not eternal in the way God is, but because they do not fall away, always remaining in the same state. And “eternal” is used in another way, when it is measured alongside the present, in accordance with which it is said: “The sons of this age are wiser in their own generation.” And the time that extends over a man’s life is also called an age.

Concerning the Hebrew who did not wish to be set free in the seventh year, it is written, "He shall be your slave forever." For a person does not remain a slave absolutely even after death. It is in this sense that Paul also writes: "If meat causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat forever," meaning: for my whole life. "They did not hear the voice of the tax-collector." For this age is full of tribute, in which he who came here for the sake of the divine plan lived. For many are those who, having come under the yoke of sin, pay taxes and tolls to the adversary. It was as liable to such taxes that the prophet Jeremiah lamented Jerusalem, saying of her: "She who was a ruler among the lands has become subject to tribute"—she who is the assembly of faithful souls, or who subjected herself to the cruellest tyrant, surrendering her own freedom. These are holy and show what is in the Gospel when... but it belongs to kings not to be subject to tribute. These, then, who have been released from things temporary—either because they have not been tried by them, or even after trial being above them—in either case are outside the tribute of strangers, not [subject] to those who make trial... "The small and the great are there, and the servant who fears his master and has obtained a shadow." The impartiality of the one who governs is shown in the foregoing. For it is not in one way that a master and in another way that a servant or a poor man enters into life. For it is not in the [passage], "Some king or tyrant," that Wisdom declares "another beginning of generation.

For one is the entrance of all into life and equal the exit," even if it was different in its movement. These were not born otherwise. But also the servant who serves his lord, even if he is not a lord but a slave of a lord through the whole path, is a shadow, so that from this shadow, which has the meaning of a symbol, he may be led up from the laws given here also to the heavenly citizenship. It must be understood also in another way: in this temporary life there is a difference of small and great and slave, acquisitiveness having introduced this variety. But in the age to come, Paul says, "there is no male and female, there is no slave or free." In the same way he would say that neither is there rich or poor, but the demonstration of works, according to which it will come about that the one who in this life was small or a slave is reckoned there great and free. For he says, "I saw slaves on horses and" — and everything that is supposed to be great is found there in punishment. Perhaps it is also possible in this way, that from here the one who is great with each person, being great in virtue, will be found so there as well, and the small one likewise. According to this understanding, what is said in Ecclesiastes is also interpreted, being as follows: "Wherever the tree falls, there it will remain," calling the man a tree, who, if he fell in punishment — that is, if he had his end in this life while being in sins — so "will be there." But if also in virtue, likewise; for "all must stand before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive according to what he did through the body.

And the servant who serves God intelligently is there, obtaining shade and rest, having escaped the scorching heat of life: "a wise son was saved from the heat," not being set ablaze by the scorching heat like those in the parable who did not receive the seed into depth and fell under the flame of sin. This promise is spoken to David in the Psalms: "By day the sun shall not scorch you, nor the moon by night," which we do not find according to the literal sense. For he himself, being righteous, was worn out by the perceptible scorching heat, yet was unwearied by the scorching heat of sin. For it is common to the righteous and the unrighteous to perceive things that fall upon them from outside, but it is proper to the zealous man to escape the scorching heat that comes from evil. "For why is light given to those in bitterness, and life to souls in pains; who long for death and do not obtain it, digging as for treasures, and they rejoiced greatly if they should succeed?" The hidden judgment of providence, not manifest to all, the holy man examines as a matter of instruction

For the sake of those who hear, so that first they may not be displeased at what happens, and then, knowing that it comes from God, they may not reckon either chance or fate as the cause of what occurs. For since the circumstances that befall humans are varied—one man is poor, another is moved from wealth to poverty, and these things in different ways, one in various difficulties and another in affliction, and those who experience such things are not altogether base, but also earnest—examining the judgment, he asks, saying: "For why is light given to those in bitterness?" For even if he knows, at any rate, wishing us also to be patient, he teaches, so that it is fitting to await this instruction from God. And he might also be speaking about those embittered by the injustices of men: "For why is light given to those in bitterness?" Jeremiah also, hinting at something like this, said: "I sat alone, because I was filled with bitterness." And he was filled with bitterness because he beheld the irregularities and injustices among men. And these same men also grieve. Or did the blessed Paul not have grief when he said: "Great sorrow is mine and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh," who, because they "turn away from the truth," were found outside it? Moreover, they also long for death, saying: "It is better to depart and be with Christ," as though "digging up a treasure"—the longing for this—so that one of the saints says: "Woe is me, that my sojourning has been prolonged," and Paul writes concerning similar things.

For they do not have here a city that remains, but they seek the one to come." Therefore, not being lovers of life, they are ready to die, as the blessed Paul says: "I die daily." For it was because of this readiness that he wrote this. But a lover of life would not say this. For the saints know that if they depart from this life, they will receive the divine recompenses. So then, "as though digging up a treasure," so they are—for even the digging up happens with toil. Just as the saints themselves expect to enter the kingdom through many labors—but hope lightens the toil—so too those who contend in athletic contests labor much, looking toward the crown. The same saints are also suited by the following half-line, for it says: "and they were exceedingly glad, if they should succeed." No one of the wicked, even if he is in straits and for this reason desires to depart from life, becomes exceedingly glad when he departs. For even if he has departed from the afflictions here, nevertheless the punishments for the things he has lived out succeed them. And moreover, when they depart, they also carry with them the impulses of the soul—either angers or savageries or other passions—which have been fixed fast in it here, having been strengthened. Because of the punishments that follow, they are not exceedingly glad. Therefore it is also fitting to understand this concerning the saints: are they not exceedingly glad, being escorted by angels and arriving in the bosom of Abraham and in the kingdom, receiving in return for these straits which they have suffered from without and for the labors which they † brought in on behalf of virtue?

And the blessed David, looking to those things, though he was a king, reckoned life to be like a prison, and sang to God: "Bring my soul out of prison." For he was not being kept in a perceptible prison. It is also possible to infer this from what follows, that he longed for departure from here; for he says: "The righteous shall wait for me, until you repay me." For this is equivalent to: "that they might not be made perfect without us." Of these, the noble deeds are true, and so are the things of the promises. But if this is so, how are the saints not exceedingly joyful when they attain the end of this life, after which the kingdom of the heavens will succeed? "Death is rest for a man; for God has shut up against him." If one wishes to take this in its obvious sense, he would be saying that death is a rest for those in adversity and toils, since "God has shut up against him," having declared the adversities. But he who follows the first meaning will have nothing to boast of in saying that not all who die come to be in rest, since the wicked are succeeded by punishments. Let him also note this, that he did not say, "Death for a human being," but "for a man"; for the one who has manliness and is in virtue is undaunted toward death, being most ready for it and singing: "My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready." This same man will also have rest, with the promises succeeding him. And while still in toil he will have rest, because what "God has shut up against him" he spoke through the common sentence against Adam, saying:

You are earth and to earth you shall depart"; henceforth "pain and sorrow and groaning" have been loosed for him because he heard: "Enter into the joy of your Lord." "For before my food, groaning comes to me, and I weep, held fast by fear. For the fear that I pondered has come upon me, and what I dreaded has met me." Fear does not always signify the passionate man, nor the virtuous and perfect man, but also the intermediate one, in whom neither the passionate nor the virtuous state occurs, but, as one might say, something of these arising for the benefit of others or because of a fall. For if the blessed Paul says: "I fear, lest somehow as the serpent deceived Eve," he does not have fear in a passionate way, nor is the perfect and pure man signified in this, even if the wise Paul had it, but rather the care for the salvation of others. It has been said concerning the perfect man: "The fear of the Lord surpasses all things," but concerning the passionate man, so that it may not be brought upon him, the oracle says: "Do not fear their fear," and: "Do not fear those who kill the body," and: "There they feared a fear where there was no fear." And these things are said because of the phrase: "and I weep, held fast by fear." But let us look from the beginning at what has been set out together: "For before my food, groaning comes to me," which is instructive, that while other men, living a life of luxury and wholly given to delicacy and pleasure and caring for nothing else, cry out in their very deeds: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die," the holy man, in the words of the blessed Paul, says:

Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn?" He does not take perceptible food without groaning, on account of human weakness and not for the sake of pleasure, but reflecting on the pure and immaterial life and that table which the Savior promised to his own disciples, saying, "that you may eat and drink at my table in the kingdom" of heaven, he groans; still receiving this, he sings in his mind: "My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord." Then, since the saint, even if he be perfect, knows that it is possible for a man, while he is in this life, to fall into a fall, he adds: "But I weep, encompassed with fear." And it is the mark of a strengthened mind to weep in pains, according to what is said: "I will wash my bed every night; I will drench my couch with my tears." And the saints do these things not pampering themselves, but being stirred up in their disposition, so that through these things they may call God to their aid, just as also the blessed David, summoning an assembly of those like himself, says: "Come, let us worship and fall down before him, and let us weep before the Lord who made us." For great is the good of the care that comes from the fall, which the Lord, wishing his disciples to have, says: "Watch, because you do not know at what hour the thief comes." And none the less, also because of the temptations that are brought on, the saints are diligent, not giving themselves over to negligence, but preparing themselves for these things, fearing lest perhaps, having preached to others, they themselves become disqualified. And they do not decline their failings.

Having a reason not carelessly, they are ready for preparation. For this reason he himself, the blessed one, always remains, having put down the assaults that come from the devil. He wished indeed not to be in circumstances of trial, since human weakness, as far as it depends on its own measure, does not bear the excesses of toils, unless a courageous reasoning surpasses the weakness. For this reason he adds: "For the fear that I cared for came upon me, and what I dreaded met me." But he said these things not cowering in fear, but according to the meaning that has been given. For he had fear, lest by delaying in life he should also experience afflictions and trials, from which it happens that the many grow weak. For even if they are unconquerable, they do not wish to draw temptations upon themselves, so that neither the adversary may have greater punishment on their account, nor may the things of human weakness, as we said, cause them to grow weak, since even a pilot steering the ship straight does not wish to experience a storm, lest he also fall into a mishap. But that they decline trials not out of cowardice, it is possible to hear one of them speaking about their common condition: "Our God is a refuge and strength, a helper in the afflictions that have found us sorely. For this reason we shall not fear when the earth is shaken and the mountains are moved into the hearts of the seas." In agreement with these things the apostle also says: "Who shall separate us from the love that is in Christ Jesus? Affliction, or distress, or persecution, or famine," and the rest. But that they undergo these things not without sweat, he adds:

But in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us," which is a proof through the contest of struggle, after which the victory comes. And well is the phrase "he met me"; for as to an athlete, the wrestling matches met him. For the devil does not fight with just anyone, as also the Savior makes clear when he says to the disciples: "Behold, Satan has demanded to sift you as wheat." He met this one too, who was most ready for battle, as the event itself showed and what follows makes clear. "I neither had peace nor was quiet nor rested, but wrath came upon me." His readiness against the adversary is shown by these words. For being watchful and having hope and the grace of the Spirit, he stood against the opponent, knowing this as Paul also did: "our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against principalities, against authorities, against the world-rulers of darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness," and against the very originator of evil, the devil, who "walks about like a lion seeking whom he may devour." Nevertheless, even though he was thus awake, the devil did not neglect him, so as to demand him, in order to bring upon him the things he brought, which he calls wrath because of the hardships, knowing that they were brought on not because of wickedness. For he says: "I know that I shall appear righteous." And in another way too he knows how to call hardships wrath. For he says, "You sent forth your wrath and it devoured them like stubble." But if we hear of the wrath of God, let us not reckon according to human standards that this is a passion in him. For such a passion is not of a nature to be sent forth, lurking in the soul. But the so-called wrath of God is sent forth;

For you sent your anger," that is, the painful things; for these too are sent upon one. So this man also calls "anger" these things which have befallen him. And having thus stretched out this holy man's narrative of such a kind, in which there happens to be teaching of the judgments of God and of divine mysteries, which we have set forth as far as possible, he is shown to have become not passionate because of what befell him, but even in these things having a longing and love and heavenly desire for divine contemplation. "And Eliphaz the Temanite, taking up the discourse, says: Has it not often been spoken to you in toil? And who will endure the strength of your words? For if you instructed many and encouraged the hands of the weak, and raised up the weak by words, and put courage on feeble knees, but now fear has come upon you and touched you, and you have been earnest." All teaching and understanding have beginnings, and when these are well, everything proceeds according to reason. But when the beginnings are not well, many errors follow. And let the example be from the heresies; for if someone impiously posits that the Father pre-exists the Son, since this beginning is unsound, many false things follow: for he will suppose the Son to be a created and changeable being, not eternal; for it is not possible when the eternal pre-exists. But if the Father pre-exists according to their unsound hypothesis, the Son would not be eternal. And it follows that he is a creature and a made thing, which entails that he is changeable and alterable. Since this is so, he will not be God in essence. Therefore, if ever you encounter unsound doctrines, seek their beginning; for when this is overturned, the whole collapses with it. And let a second example of the same be set out.

There are some who introduce the notion of appearance, holding the opinion that the Savior appeared only in appearance. It must be asked for what reason he came, and it is clear that it was for the sake of the salvation of human beings. But if he appeared by appearance and if the teaching came about by appearance, then the cross and the ascension also did, from which it follows that salvation too came about by appearance and not in truth—which is what followed from that absurd premise. So then, in the words set forth by Eliphaz there is something of this sort. There are two indisputable causes of the gloomy things that befall human beings: one is for the correction of sins, the other is for the demonstration of courage and the testing of those who are afflicted, which is what the following saying means: "Blessed is the man who endures temptation, because having become approved he will receive the crown of life, which he promised to those who love him." And again: "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, because the testing of affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces approval, and approval produces hope." And it is also possible to receive testimonies of the other kind from the holy Scriptures. For it is said: "I will bear the anger of the Lord, because I have sinned against him." For he says that the visitation came about because of sin. Therefore painful things are common to both the earnest and the base, but the manner of the cause is different. At any rate, the things brought upon sinners because of the evils they have committed are called "scourges" in the passage: "Many are the scourges of the sinner, but the one who hopes in the Lord, mercy will surround him." And again:

If his sons forsake my law and do not walk in my judgments, and do not keep my statutes, and do not observe my commandments, I will visit their lawless deeds with a rod and their sins with scourges." These same calamities and the same distressing and adverse circumstances brought upon the righteous are not called "scourges" but "afflictions": "Many are the afflictions of the righteous," and: "In affliction I remembered the Lord." But also concerning the righteous man who for the most part is afflicted, according to what is said: "In everything afflicted, but not distressed," it is said: "And a scourge shall not come near your tent." The distressing things brought upon someone, as has been said, happen according to two incontrovertible principles: either for the sake of rebuke and correction, or so that one who bears them with magnanimity may obtain crowns for endurance and courage. The friends of Job, being ignorant of this, supposed according to the second of these two ways that he was being afflicted as one who had turned aside because of sins. They did not set forth the other way, although they were conscious of no sin in Job. For how was it possible, when he was testified of, that he attended daily with steadfastness to his sitting before God, offering sacrifices on behalf of his sons, "lest perhaps they had conceived evil"? For no sin of theirs was apparent. Therefore he also made the offering on behalf of their thought. And this is even greater, that he was also testified of by God, saying: "He was a righteous man, blameless," and the rest.

Nevertheless, the friends, believing as has been said that the visitations were sent in only one of the two ways, did not dare to attribute them to a righteous man, wishing to show that providence brings afflictions in accordance with one's deeds. And because of this assumption of theirs they spoke contrary things against Job. Therefore God also granted them forgiveness and made them bring a sacrifice for their ignorance. But that they did this not with an evil intent but as vindicating providence—this is what they said, even if they were ignorant of the exact truth. From this judgment, then, the first one who began also brings forward the words, saying: "Have you not often spoken in toil?" which means: you too have often used words to certain people who had fallen into distress, so that we may understand "have spoken" actively, as "it has been done by you." It can also be said passively, so that the meaning is: was it only now, having first come into toils, that you had someone speaking words of consolation to you? — "not" being taken in place of "no"; for Job was not only then in a difficult situation. For it is likely that he was in distress for a longer time. Then, having taken the meaning of what was said to Job in another way and having heard his words as from one who was slighting, he adds: "But the strength of words who can endure?" You yourself brought consolation to many, but your words, filled with slighting, no one is able to bear. But he said these things in ignorance of the greatness of what had been said by him. And he supposedly accepts the comparison from him, saying: "For if you instructed many" and the rest, showing that:

The things you brought forward for the consolation of others, rousing in a certain way those who had been slackened by grief—not merely reminding them—"you have been earnest" (in place of "you have been disturbed"), and doing many things for the aid and comfort of the afflicted, so as to extend a right hand to them according to what is said in Isaiah to the rulers: "Comfort with the hand," the word signifying concord and sympathy. "And to feeble knees you have given courage," providing strength to men enfeebled by weakness through your earnestness toward them. And in the anagogical sense, "the one who bends them to Baal" has knees that are paralyzed—the one who proclaims another god, the one who is enslaved to the sin he commits. "But now pain has come upon you and has touched you," the word "has touched" signifying the violent intensity of the calamity. In addition to what has been said, it is fitting to consider there that the affliction brought on by the friends through their words—an assault—was harsher than the calamity itself. For besides the dread being without consolation, their words, being burdensome, also provided no small distress. "Is not your fear in folly, and your hope, and the wickedness of your way?" Since the prophetic Spirit testified to Job that he did not give folly to God, this one, holding a different opinion about the things brought upon him and reckoning that he suffers because of sins, and supposing that he had spoken what he uttered out of negligence, says: "Is not your fear in folly"—for he supposed himself righteous—"and your hope, and the wickedness of your way." And folly, he says, is also the hoping that you will appear righteous. For such things are not brought upon the righteous.

This very way has been called a way of wickedness, since Eliphaz thinks in every respect that the blessed man suffers because of sin. Thus he also attached folly to him. "Remember, then, who being pure has perished, or when have truthful men been destroyed root and branch. According to the manner in which I have seen those who plow absurd things, and those who sow them shall reap pains for themselves. They shall perish at the command of the Lord, and by the breath of his anger they shall vanish." Still holding to the same thought—that Job had experienced these circumstances because of sin—he says these things to him, supposing that no man, being pure in life, has fallen into afflictions and "been destroyed root and branch," hinting at the loss of children and possessions and property. For "they perished" means this to him. He compares the wicked, also suggesting that these are subject to calamities—saying something true, that "those who sow unjust things reap pains"—urging him to understand the recompense which he says is sent from God, and being rightly disposed in this matter through the

to say: "By the command of the Lord they shall perish, and by the breath of his anger they shall vanish." To which is similar what is said by the blessed Paul: "who will render to each according to his works." "The strength of a lion, and the voice of a lioness, and the pride of dragons has been quenched. The ant-lion has perished for lack of food, and the cubs of lions have abandoned one another. But if any true word had come to be in your words, none of these evils would have befallen you." Even if the friends of Job—of whom this man was one—went astray in supposing concerning him that it was because of sins that he fell into afflictions, yet at any rate they possess human understanding, which is not infallible. Therefore, when we apply ourselves to their very words, we are not displeased with those spoken from understanding, disposed as we are to recognize that they were not able to grasp the whole truth concerning things to be thought upon; and this is clear from what has now been set out at the end: "For if any," he says, "true word had come to be in your words, none of these evils would have met you"—which, as we said, was spoken by him neither appropriately nor intelligently. For he thought this to be the only cause of afflictions, namely that which comes through sin. And he sets forth the changes that befall human beings, not unintelligently, saying: "The strength of a lion, and the voice of a lioness, and the pride of dragons has been quenched." For he says these things by way of figurative language, since many proud men who think greatly of human affairs have undergone a change—such as Nebuchadnezzar, who came from kingship to the uttermost condition of a private citizen. But also what was said to the rich man who said: "I will pull down my storehouses and build greater ones.

Fool, this night they take your soul from you" is illustrative of this mindset. "Lion," then, is used of him because of his savage temper and his pride, in that he "trusted in himself." Understanding this, the blessed Paul also said concerning Nero: "At my first defense no one came to my aid, but the Lord stood by me and rescued me from the mouth of the lion." But Jeremiah too, saying: "Israel is a wandering sheep, lions have driven him out," next explains who the lions are, saying: "The first king of Assyria devoured him," and so on. But also the phrase "God shattered the teeth of the lions" signifies the defeat of proud and savage men. And "lioness" one may take as meaning a greedy disposition, which has such a nature. For when she needs food, she does not roar, lest the beasts that ought to become food for her take flight. And if the male is also of this nature, nevertheless from the more dominant trait he was mentioned with a view to what is kingly and proud. And he has made mention of "dragons" too, hinting at serpent-like men, as these also are brought down when a change comes upon them. These are deceitful and workers of deception, according to that saying: "But I fear lest, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds should be corrupted." And "myrmecoleon" seems to be a boastful and rash man, who because of his instability and inconstancy falls the more quickly. It is said that this creature is born from a lion mating with an ant—not the little animal, but another, which has the size of a bear, and is so called.

Those who record such things say that it perishes because of its father, which is carnivorous, and because of its mother, which is herbivorous, since by reason of its birth from both it cannot make use of a single kind of food. How these things stand, let the reader judge. There are those who take this to refer to the devil, speaking persuasively, saying that for the saints the ant is [a figure] because of weakness, but for sinners the lion, because he "gave place to him." "And the whelps of lions left one another," which he said, hinting at those who are without disposition and savage. For the whelps, as long as they are under the mother, are together, but when they have grown to maturity, they are separated from one another. So too the crafty and savage man, as long as he has some benefit—I mean human benefit—from the one who is with him, conceals his wickedness, but once he has been filled with what he was eager for, he cares little for his benefactor. And one must understand the "true word" as that which proceeds from a sincere disposition; for there is also a word in the soul. And this too must be said, that it is not fitting to regard the words of every person set in Scripture as earnest or worthy of understanding. At any rate, in the Gospels some of the Jews' words are senseless, but Nicodemus also used words not wisely; for when the Savior said, "You must be born from above," he said, "Can one who is old be born, or enter a second time into his mother's womb?" Thus one must not always demand understanding from every person set in Scripture.

Will my ear not receive extraordinary things from him, and in fear and a night echo, a fear falling upon men, and shuddering met me and trembling, and it greatly shook my bones, and a spirit came upon my face, and my hairs and flesh shuddered. I rose and did not know; I saw and there was no form before my eyes, but I heard a breeze and a voice." Since he used more words, the first things seeming to be consolatory, then reproachful, as though Job had been hasty because of what had happened and because he suffered on account of sin—for this is what Eliphaz thought from the beginning—and in addition to these things, that human affairs, even if they be held in high repute, admit of great change—, considering that it is possible for the hearer not to pay attention to what was said by him, for the sake of assurance he brings forward the things set out, saying: "Will my ear not receive extraordinary things from him," almost saying: let none of those hearing think that I happen to be unintelligent. For the ear of my mind receives wonderful things from him, meaning from God himself. For this is indicative of authority, as in: "I myself who speak am present," and in: "He himself, being wise, brought evils upon them, and his law shall certainly not be set aside," evidently of God. For indeed, if human understanding applies itself to the things from God, it is filled with fear, according to what is said: "I considered your works and was astonished." And to this same thing there follows also a "night echo," which is great obscurity, from which it happens that the one who has begun to understand something of God's judgments shudders and fears.

But indeed also the bones of such a one are troubled, which are the power of the soul. For every human reasoning grows weak in relation to the precise comprehension of divine things. Knowing this very thing, Habakkuk also says: From the voice of my prayer trembling entered into my bones. Therefore, since fearful divine works are, as has been said before, for one who wishes to understand according to the intellectual faculty, there comes to be a certain impression of thought, not precise, which is indicated by: and a spirit came upon my face. Next there is also: and my hairs and flesh shuddered. For a man endures no small disturbance if he should dare to apply himself to the judgments and wonders of God. I arose, and there was no form before my eyes, so that what is said may be: even if a man wishes to rouse himself toward comprehension, precision, called form, escapes him. Similar to this would be: Deep is the depth, who will find it? But rather I heard a breeze and a voice. For one who uses understanding receives certain wonderful things and echoes of the governance that is from God. And he does not altogether have the strength to grasp it, and very reasonably so; for if Paul, speaking in Christ, says: O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and untraceable his ways, how much more will one who applies himself with human reasonings grow weak toward comprehension? For what? Shall a mortal be pure before the Lord, or a man blameless from his works? We have supposed that the friends of Job also had human understanding in the preceding passages.

For it is no small proof of understanding that, being kings, they left their lands and came because of sympathy for Job, although they understood that he had not been freed from sins. Nevertheless, even if they use human reasonings, yet they also go astray. For as has been said before, setting down one cause for calamities, they think that Job also suffered because of sin, being led to this by a plausible argument, understanding the weakness of human nature. Therefore Eliphaz also says the things set before us: "For what? Shall a mortal be pure before the Lord, or shall a man be blameless from his works?" This very thing, being plausible, if it were examined according to his meaning, has its refutation. For if the one who falls into grievous afflictions is oppressed because of sin, and no one is pure, then no one would have existed outside of grievous afflictions. But these things he says; yet divine instruction teaches that even wicked men, and those who are entirely in sins, passed their life without adversity. Of these is the rich man with Lazarus, who feasted splendidly every day, clothed in fine linen and purple, remaining in the most pleasant manner of life until his last breath, while Lazarus the righteous was testified to and had no rest here. But also the one who heard, "Fool, this night they demand your soul from you. And the things you prepared, whose will they be?" is recorded as not having shared in adversity. And divine word also teaches this, even if this man spoke it in a human way, that not the pure man is altogether such also before the Lord. And this is shown from "the stars are not pure before him," and from what is in the Psalms:

Shall every living man be justified before you?" For he did not say, "No one is justified," but "before you." You will find, then, that all are lacking in comparison with God, and do not possess anything in excess. For Moses, although "trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," says: "I am not capable of speaking, from yesterday and from the third day before, and from the time you began to speak to your servant." For when the surpassing one is present, he seems to be lesser. Or also when he says after other things: "But I am slow of speech." But Abraham too, who was called "the friend of God," says: "Since I began to speak to my Lord, I am earth and ashes." He does not dishonor himself absolutely, but from the time he began to speak to God. And if "mortal" and "man" are spoken by Eliphaz in parallel, nevertheless we, having applied ourselves more precisely to the word, say that "mortal" can indeed be used of a woman. For "man" is not said of every human being. "If he does not trust his own servants, and against his angels he devised something crooked, but those who dwell in houses of clay, from which we too are from the same clay, he struck them like a moth. And from morning until evening they are no more." He wishes to bring the proof from the greater and to make it credible, that every man is under sin, saying that even the servants of God are not trusted by him, that is: they are not as though immutable. "And against his angels he devised something crooked"—of those who sinned. But if this is so, much more against those who dwell in houses of clay.

And since they are from the same clay and sin, he will not spare them, sending punishments upon them like a moth, they who by his judgment often will not endure from morning until evening. But indeed this is the most general sense of what has been said. One might ask, however, whence he has a distinction concerning the angels who transgressed, against whom he says God has devised a crooked thing. To this it might be said that, being a prudent man, he knows that the angels are not good by nature but mutable. And it is not unreasonable for him to understand this also from demon-possessed men, concerning whom the divine teaching says: "But angels who did not keep their own rank he has kept in darkness." And he says that men dwell in houses of clay instead of material houses, saying more simply that men too are composed of the same clay. For the soul is not also from clay; for the body is called clay. "He struck them like a moth." The punishment sent upon them as upon worthless things

He indicates punishment. This is made clear in Wisdom. But the prophet also says: "The ruler asks, and the judge has spoken peaceful words; it is the desire of his soul. And I will take away their good things like a moth devouring and walking on a rule in the day of visitation," which indicates the sudden and unexpected nature of the punishments and what has been determined. For "rule" means this. For if he does not "bring wrath each day," but "repays each one according to his works," he does this by a rule, together with tempering his goodness. "Because they could not help themselves, they perished. For he breathed upon them and they dried up; they perished because they had no wisdom." Still holding to the same principle, according to which he thinks that circumstances happen because of sin, he says these things too. For since they were not able through virtue, by repenting of their evils, to help themselves, distressing things followed them. And he suggests understanding this as well: unable through weakness to repel the severity of what came upon them, they were perishing, displaying the worthlessness of human power. At any rate, what follows also appears to signify this: "For he breathed upon them and they dried up." For it indicates that there was no need of an extraordinary onslaught against them, but only of his breathing, which was sufficient for their destruction, which he called perdition. And being of the same mind as the thought that came before, he adds: "They perished because they had no wisdom," not knowing that many wise men fall into overwhelming troubles.

Call now, if anyone will answer you, or if you will see any of the holy angels." He brings, as it seems, an exhortation to the holy man, looking toward repentance, so that from this, having come to supplication, he might obtain the one who helps and answers. And he sets forth also this: "if you will see any of the holy angels," knowing himself that there are angels who are not holy. For if he did not know this, the addition would be superfluous; as though distinguishing a holy angel from one not such, he says this. But there are those who say that he says these things in irony. Again he holds to the erroneous beginning, saying that through sin... "For anger destroys the fool, and zeal puts to death the one who has gone astray." ... in this way ... to have been ... if ... to you ... having fallen ... to call ... help ... and this ... whenever ... some also ... instead of ... such things ... of those who are displeased with the providence of God: why do I fall into so many grievous things ... and the honor ... according to what is said: "Do not be provoked to jealousy by those who do evil, nor be jealous of those who commit lawlessness." ... zeal ... similar to him ... but a second rendering ... the things relative to the first ... even if by irony ... this: "Call now, if anyone will answer you," he will seem to have spoken fittingly, that he does not obey ... as has been said.

But I have seen fools taking root, but immediately their dwelling was devoured." He speaks of human things, saying that this happens for the most part, so that the one being stirred up and the rich man often change into poverty. But while it remains, he praises it; yet at any rate, coming to this in life, such things of boastfulness. For the divine Scripture presents the meaning, spoken in the Psalms from a holy one: "I saw the wicked exalted and lifted up like the cedars of Lebanon; and I passed by, and behold, he was not, and I sought him, and his place was not found." For evil is not even subsisting, I am persuaded, except in the purpose of the one who works it. If, then, that one ceases by his purpose, evil no longer has a standing, since his purposive existence is what it is. "Break the arm of the sinner and the wicked,

His sin will be sought out, and it will not be found because of it. For because it is without substance, it is not found; for evil is not a substance, but having been begotten in free choice, it has its being. Again, when the error ceases, the evil also departs with it. But at any rate it has been said concerning evil in general: "And injustice has lied to itself." For just as we often say that a path lies to the earth, both the proper one and the good one, so too evil is said to lie to itself, no longer coming into being when "all pain and grief and groaning shall flee away." But the manner of life of punishment is devoured when it is accomplished. "May their sons be far from salvation. May they be buffeted at the gates of the lesser, and there will be no one to rescue them." He prays that some discipline befall the arrogant, so that the pleasant and human goods may depart from them, which he called "salvation"; for thus some toil will befall them. And he says: "May they be buffeted," may they be despised, being humbled by lesser men, with no one to help. For humility is beneficial to the proud man, first, so that there may be a cessation of boundless evil for such a one, and then, so that he may also be re-educated. And "may they be buffeted" is derived from kolon, which is "mutilated"; for a small pig is called a kolobron. "For what those men gathered, the righteous shall eat." This man, although speaking it in a human way, would well provide the reckoning, saying that what the impious gather, the righteous shall eat—unless some paradoxical thing is ever seen to happen; for this is not found to be altogether so.

But in the divine Proverbs it is said: "The wealth of the ungodly is stored up for the righteous," which again we do not accept as necessarily referring to history. Since it has been spoken proverbially, accordingly the Jews are said to be rich, having the law and the prophets, which they did not use as they ought. But this wealth passed over to the Gentiles; for "the vineyard shall be taken away and given to a nation producing its fruits." "But they themselves shall not be exempt from evils; may their strength be siphoned away." He says that not only are the ungodly deprived of wealth, but may they never be exempted from evils. And may their power be utterly emptied out, by a metaphor from things siphoned off, so that nothing moist is left remaining. These things he says in the manner of curses; consider this as well. But he knows that these things will not by all means happen to the wicked; for many in their old age received the end of this life. But whether he says these things with a view to the future age and punishment, consider this too. However, what the holy man, advising concerning those who are unjustly rich, says to the one who attends: "Do not fear when a man becomes rich, because in his dying he will not take all things, nor will the glory of his wealth go down with him." And throughout his whole discourse he calls "evils" those things that are painful: poverty, disease, ill repute, dishonor. "For travail shall not come forth from the earth, nor shall toil spring up from the mountains, but man is born for toil, and the young of vultures fly to the heights." Wishing to show that the curses which he invoked against the ungodly, or which he said follow them, he uttered reasonably, he says:

For it belongs to humans to fall into afflictions, not to soulless things. But the statement can also be consolatory, as it is customary for many to say: "You have not suffered anything outside human nature"; for we have our life in toil. And indeed, our very being born comes about through toil and hardship, with those who beget enduring countless things and those who are begotten passing their lives in labor. But if you are able to set alongside this the account of the man blind from birth, consider it together. For concerning him "his disciples asked Jesus: Did this man sin, or his parents, that he should be born blind?" "But the young of vultures fly to the heights" is similar to saying that harm does not touch soulless things. And the nestlings of vultures, he says, fly on high, meaning: they are free from hardship—for they do not live in wickedness—so that what he says is something like this: soulless and irrational creatures—for through the young of vultures he appears to signify irrational creatures—do not receive the experience of recompense, while man, because of his sins, enjoys such things, which he says following his own principle. "Nevertheless, I will beseech the Lord, and I will call upon the Lord, the master of all things." Having blamed the foolish and said what follows concerning them, he says, But I do not rejoice as they do, but as one who knows providence and knows that God is the master of all things, I call upon him, considering this fitting. But consider whether he says these things wishing to send forth a distinction as concerning himself as righteous. "Who does great and inscrutable things, glorious and marvelous, of which there is no number.

...the one who gives rain upon the earth, who sends water under the heaven." He confesses God as the provider and creator of all things. And it is not unreasonable that a wise man has these understandings of human affairs. He also has an understanding concerning invisible and visible things, speaking of the unsearchable and great and glorious things of rain and water—which water, if one distinguishes it from rain, he would be speaking of what comes from springs and torrents and veins. You have these notions most intelligently in many places of the Scriptures, not least also in Paul when he writes: "In Christ the visible and the invisible things have been created, both earthly and heavenly." But one must also consider this, that from the things that happened to holy Job, being led into fear as a human being, he marvels at the works of providence. And the phrase "there is no number" must be understood as pertaining to man; for God knows all things. And it is nothing wonderful, since even Solomon says: "God has given me true knowledge of things that exist, to know the constitution of the world and the working of the elements, the beginning and the end and the middle of time, the changes of seasons," and so on. For not even the things that are by nature uncountable are uncountable to God, of whom it is said: "He who numbers the multitudes of the stars," and: "But the hairs of your head have been numbered," which things are also given to those who are worthy to know for their benefit, as has been said concerning Solomon.

The one who makes the lowly high and raises up those who have perished." He moves on also to providence as it concerns human beings, and he holds this view about the God of all: that he himself from on high brings low, making the rich out of the poor, rulers out of subjects, the healthy out of the sick, and the reverse. It is clear that these things—both as they appear and as they are understood—are truly beneficial, as stated by the holy one: "The Lord sets up kings and deposes them," and: "By me kings reign," and: "He who raises the poor from the earth and lifts the needy from the dung heap." And the prelude of exaltation that comes from God is the humility that comes from us; for "he who humbles himself will be exalted, and he who exalts himself will be humbled." And again: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." And he says that "those who have perished" are "raised up"—those who have fallen into difficulties and experienced a change that puts an end to their afflictions and grants them rest in return, which also happened to the blessed Job, who remained steadfast in the virtuous works of his soul. But if you take "the one who has perished" in the sense of "the one who has sinned," God raises up these too, providing through teaching "a place of repentance." Yet the blessed Job had not perished with such a perishing as to need such a raising up. "He frustrates the counsels of the crafty, and their hands shall not accomplish the truth." Through all these things he expounds concerning God in the manner he can, being moved in many points not unconvincingly by human thoughts.

Having gone through the matter of God's providence and that through him disgraces and glories come about, and that a person is brought low not without him, he proceeds to show that even if human beings employ great and varied understanding, it is God's part to supply the outcome. He indicates this, then, by the phrase "changing the counsels of the crafty," meaning that even if people plan and suppose their own cunning to be incontrovertible and certain, God alters these things, doing what is advantageous for each. Often, indeed, people who hoped for no little have failed, and have obtained things they did not expect, since God directs, not managing things in a human way. Nor, again, do such people have anything true in their actions—those who, casting their hopes on themselves, imagined they were sufficient for everything through their own counsels. But one must know that in divine Scripture the name of "cunning" is applied not only to what is blameworthy but also to what is praiseworthy. For when it is said of wisdom, "that he may give cunning to the innocent," it is clear that it means prudence and a thing worthy of praise; for such is what is given by wisdom. And again: "The cunning man hid himself when evils were coming upon him" indicates the action of a prudent man, which is accomplished by him in the manner of repentance, when an onslaught of evils is expected—which the Ninevites did and so escaped the threat; for he hides, escaping that wrath by repentance. That "cunning" is also used in a blameworthy sense is shown in the passage: "I fear, lest as the serpent deceived Eve in his cunning, your minds should be corrupted." And "hands" we have as signifying actions in Scripture, as this man also appears to have understood. For when he says—

Thorns grow in the hand of the drunkard": we do not take this as referring to a part of the body—for thorns do not grow on that account—but to the actions by which he sins. "Their hands," then, "will not accomplish truth," since God does not allow the outcomes of their plans to be fulfilled. "He who catches the wise in their cleverness, and has confounded the counsel of the crafty." Either he says that by his own cleverness he catches the schemes of the wise, or by the cleverness of those who have received a share of cleverness from him—by which Elisha caught the sophistry of Gehazi, whom he caught scheming to escape his notice, saying: "Your servant did not go to the right or to the left." To whom, having caught his movement, he said: "Was not my heart with you?" But he also confounds the counsel of those who weave villainy, as that of Ahithophel, when the blessed David prayed and said: "Scatter for me the counsel of Ahithophel." And not only this, but he also confounded the counsel of the "lawless elders" and of the Egyptian woman, who plotted against chastity in such a way that Susanna, because of their intricacy, said: "I am hemmed in on every side," while Joseph, with a youthful spirit and movement, escaped the schemes of the lawless Egyptian woman. "By day darkness will meet them, and at midday they will grope as in the night, and they will perish in war." He says that as many as attempt beyond their own power, thinking that they grasp something without the inspiration of God, find nothing, held fast by the darkness of obscurity, groping after matters as in the night, wholly unable to perceive anything with precision.

For just as a film spread over the eyes hinders the power of sight, so such a condition affecting the mind makes one blind even amid things bright and manifest. He indicates that their ignorance is all the more intense because they are blind even at midday. You might also say that he is speaking of the one who has believed the gospel proclamation but is still able to be accused of sins: though a great light is present, he does not see. For insofar as he believes, light appears to him; but insofar as he does not use the light as he ought, he is blind. These things happened symbolically to the Egyptians; for three days and three full nights in succession they remained in darkness. And that they suffered this through their own fault is shown by the fact that the day was not simply without light for all, but only for them, while the Israelites suffered nothing of the kind. But also the men of Sodom, struck with perceptible blindness, were symbolically shown to be blind in their understanding. And those in the Kingdoms who were struck with blindness, who also... not by constraint. But you will say also that those who set themselves against the truth through sophistical and plausible words fall into darkness in the day and at midday as though in the night; but when one who stands with the truth by demonstrations convicts the rottenness of their plausibility, since they are unable to withstand these, they resemble the blind and foolish. And they also perish in the war, in the contest for the truth.

Of these things the symbols are both the Egyptians who campaigned under Pharaoh and were defeated by the Israelites with God's help, and Goliath by David, and all who were defeated by the servants of God even in the perceptible sense. For these furnish a proof that not even the enemies of the wise in the realm of thought can prevail against the truth that is proclaimed by them. Indeed, the example according to Moses is the clearest proof of this, when he fought against Amalek. For whenever his hands were let down, a turning of victory took place, victory coming about when they happened to be stretched upward toward God. From this it is evident that the one who rests upon the lofty thought of truth, being invincible, also tramples "the falsely named knowledge." But the one who turns downward around earthly things, being blinded and darkened in mind by ignorance, undergoes the most grievous defeat. "But an impotent man shall go forth from the hand of a mighty one." These words might indeed, according to the form of the expression, be thus indicating wishes, so that what is said is: may the weak obtain help, so as to escape from the hands of the mighty. It is also possible for this to be taken as from narrative, so that it reads thus: "who does great and unsearchable things, glorious and marvelous, of which there is no number, who gives rain upon the earth, who sends water upon what is under heaven, who raises up the lowly, who raises the lost," as it is said, and the rest. This one rescues all, even the impotent, from the hand of the mighty. We have this in the Books of Kingdoms, for when Saul was persecuting David in such a way that he hid himself in a cave, in which Saul also lodged. And what is the paradoxical thing?

For he was surrounded by enemies and was saved by divine power, so that even his enemy was given into his hand, although by the virtue of forgiveness he overlooked the slaughter of his adversary, not only not killing him but also teaching him to depart from wickedness. For having cut off "the fringe of his cloak," he showed him that he was also able to cut off his head. So he teaches both things: the providence of God toward his own servants, and his own forbearance, to which he invites the enemy to imitate him, teaching him that God rescues the weak from the powerful and treacherous. "But let hope belong to the weak, and let the mouth of the unjust be stopped." And the phrase fits the account of providence. If one is weak, lacking power, let him not reject himself, let him not turn away from all expectation; for even for the weak there is hope. And the mouth of the unjust is stopped when, puffed up with arrogance against the wronged, he sees them escaping his violence and becoming glorious in this regard. The common [remarks] from the saints are blameworthy... "I will despoil the strength of the nations and by the wisdom of understanding I will remove the boundaries of nations; I will seize the whole inhabited world with my hand as a nest and as abandoned eggs I will take them," things which are done out of arrogance, almost saying: the whole inhabited world is like...

...not at all from on high, but easily caught. "Shall he escape?" But to escape beyond the hopes against the enemy... because of his innocence... of shields... "He has given authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon all the power of the enemy." For he... "and the outcome of... to be able to endure." ... "Shall the axe be glorified without him who cuts with it?" For you are not the one who cuts. In the first place, you hold the role of an axe to the word. The word of providence hands down what these things are. Do not be confident in yourself; for you are an axe. I am the one who cuts in you. "Shall the saw be exalted without him who draws it?" You would be sawed through—the trees that are not long... For I am the one who draws you... In the psalm he says: "For he delivered the poor from the hand of the mighty, and the needy for whom there was no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and he shall redeem their souls from usury and from injustice"—which he accomplished by the cross, usury... "impossible from the hand of the mighty." Once... considering... not... we who sin against ourselves of our sins, which is shown through the need, of the... heavenly things, but not things that appear... from the... and according to... impulse. But hope existing for those who are powerless is a refutation against the Novatians, who, by removing repentance, also cut off hopes. They ought at least to have been taught by Eliphaz, who speaks of natural things, that there is a hope of salvation and... for some of them willingly... and... is.

Let the mouth of the unjust be stopped." ... of a maiden ... of a young man ... when the ... inclines ... "All injustice shall stop its mouth," which is said in place of "the unjust." For often ... For if Paul writes concerning love, he applies the words not to love itself but to the one who possesses it. For he says: "Love does not boast, is not puffed up" ... and these things are properly said of the one who possesses it: "Love never falls." But virtue does not fall; rather, the one who possesses it does. "Let its mouth be stopped," then, "by injustice"—that is, the unjust one, who is the devil, no longer having anything to say, which Paul also writes, saying: "so that the adversary may be put to shame, having nothing to say about you," meaning against us. "Blessed is the man whom the Lord reproves, and do not reject the discipline of the Almighty. For he causes pain and again restores; he struck, and his hands healed." ... of the prophet ... ... this ... according to the rendering ... For it is said: "And I will not visit their daughters when they commit fornication, nor their brides when they commit adultery." And observe that in the case of daughters, "commit fornication" is said, but in the case of brides, "commit adultery." But also what is said in Proverbs: "Whom the Lord loves he disciplines, and he scourges every son whom he receives," suggests the same meaning. And one of the saints, having zeal for this and speaking boldly as he offered words of repentance to God, said: "I am ready for scourges.

For I know that this happens from you in a beneficial way, just as one might say to a wise physician: "I am ready even for surgery, trusting in your unerring art." Still holding to the same beginning, Job in a certain manner... as if toward reproof and... "For he himself causes pain and again restores," and concerning... but... authentic... God. Moses himself says: "I kill and I make alive; I strike and I will heal." For not according to the Manichaeans is one who causes pain and another who heals; for there is one who heals, who also permitted the onslaught of those that afflict, leading the demons toward the goal of providence. For the powers of him... they bring on the afflictions for health: "Six times he will deliver you from necessities, and in the seventh no evil shall touch you." Attending to what has been said and considering that Eliphaz is not among the saints, one might be at a loss as to how such words are spoken by him, which might even have been uttered by saints. One must say to this, then, that those who are wise according to God and before the law...

And they used to speak many things without writing, with wisdom, from the written teaching, which someone later handed down in writing, by divine provision. It is likely, then, that Job's friends also, having a well-articulated understanding, remembered the words composed by the saints. And this is what moved them to bring forward intelligent words, even if they erred in certain matters. What, then, do the verses set forth suggest? This: as long as a person remains under the world that came into being in six days, he endures the griefs and afflictions that are in it. For even if someone is a saint, he has the necessity of the body's need, from which he is released when he has passed beyond the world and come to be in the seventh-day rest. This is made clear from the words: "Pain and sorrow and groaning have fled away." For according to this understanding it is not incongruous to interpret the saying. For affliction does not touch the one who has passed beyond the world, since loss does not touch the one who has a character free from love of money and possesses nothing, [but it does touch] the one understood intelligently, as we also noted earlier, since the expression signifies more than one thing. For in the phrase "you have touched all things" it indicates approach and touch itself, while in "the one who touches you is as one who touches the pupil of his own eye" it indicates an attack and assault and plot against someone, even if the wrongdoer does not carry it out through himself. It could also be understood in this way: the one who is still making progress, so as to press on toward the end through works and deeds, would be in the six necessities, becoming a certain violent man; for "the violent seize the kingdom.

But when it has reached perfection, it will no longer need the force of progress that consists in toil and sweat, being compelled to perfection by necessity. This, then, is shown symbolically in the patriarch, who was first called Jacob because of "supplanting" the passions, and later Israel because of devoting himself to contemplation after the struggle against the passions. This, at any rate, is what Jesus also said to his own disciples: "You are no longer of this world," since they had leaped over it. But if someone should object that the elevated contemplation is not supplied by what was said by Eliphaz, he would be right to give the meaning and to say—if indeed he does not think it has this sense—that until the sixth affliction God permits a man to be afflicted, no longer permitting the seventh, since he has experience of him, as often men have fallen into many temptations; for this is not unreasonable. "In famine he will deliver you from death, and in war he will loose you from the hand of iron." Someone might say that it is not at all unlikely that the one who supposed the sufferer was suffering because of sin should suppose that even the one admonished by the Lord is immediately after the admonition deemed worthy of such things as to be delivered by God from death in famine and loosed by God from iron in war, since this is not incontrovertible; for many excellent people have died in famine, and not all who perish in war are worthless, the account having its incontrovertibility according to the anagogical sense. For what is said in the Psalms: "I was young; for indeed I have grown old, and I have not seen a righteous man forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread.

All day long he has mercy and lends—true and necessary when understood in the spiritual sense. For the righteous man has no need of things that nourish the soul, being full of the life-giving Spirit. But even his seed, begotten according to divine generation, will not be subject to this lack of nourishment. For the earnest man becomes an imitator of Christ, according to Paul who says: "Be imitators of me, as I also am of Christ"—he has as food the will of God, walking in his commandments and ordinances. And the same man has mercy and lends—not a forbidden loan (for how could that be? For he has not given his money at interest), but divine instruction and teaching, from which progress and gain come to those who hear and to the one who teaches. At any rate, to those who are close to Jesus and eager not to have "bronze for their belts" nor to have anything at all, so as to say with boldness, "Silver and gold I do not possess," he says: "Do not turn away the one who wishes to borrow from you," evidently as has been said before. The worthless man, then, when he borrows, does not repay. For though he hears many words that lead to instruction, he brings nothing to fulfillment in deed. But also the saying, "You shall lend to many nations," spoken as a command—"but you shall not borrow"—has no historical application (for how could it be possible to cross hostile nations for the purpose of exacting interest?). And also, when the Israelites were borrowing, it has been said: "You shall not exact interest from your brother," and—

If you take a pledge, "you shall restore it before sunset," which shows that they are in need—it has this meaning: the one who possesses divine wealth must instruct everyone who comes to him, not entering into the condition of the one in need. For that righteous men have hungered and in war have endured many afflictions is clear to the one who has read the royal histories, since the sons of the prophets were hungering, and Lazarus, and David came into many circumstances, evidently having spiritual food according to what is said: "Open your eyes and be filled with bread," and being found outside the trial that is according to the mind, not being permitted to endure the death of the soul or becoming outside the threat of the bonds of sin, according to which he brings on: "Not a famine of bread nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the word of the Lord," while the righteous drink from the water that Jesus provides, which also "in them becomes a spring of water leaping up to eternal life." "From the scourge of the tongue he will hide you, and you shall not fear from evils that come." Concerning the one admonished by the Lord and as it were having repented, he says these things again, following his own principle, since not even this that he says is necessary. For many righteous men have often been reviled, among whom is the prudent Joseph, accused by the Egyptian woman of licentiousness, and Susanna, who endured scourges—the slanders from "the lawless elders.