Fragmenta in Job

Or even having released him from the disease, that is, having set him free, he will renew again my skin that was corrupted by the ichor; for he himself causes pain, and again restores, kills and makes alive. Therefore he adds: CHAPTER 20 "But the gladness of the impious is a surpassing fall, and the joy of the lawless is destruction." But if their gladness is a surpassing fall, and their joy is destruction, where shall we place destruction, tell me, where pain and despondency? "Let those less than they destroy his sons, and let his hands kindle pains." And from this indeed it is clear that the blow is God-sent, because the worse prevail over the greater, and those cast aside get the better of those who have strength. But instead of "Let them kindle pains," Aquila said "they will turn back," and Symmachus, "they will make." CHAPTER 21 "Why do the impious live, and have grown old, and in wealth?" David also sings something like this: Behold, such are the sinners and those prospering, they have possessed wealth forever. And now Job says, It is not for this alone that one must marvel, that in return for wickedness they receive such recompenses, but that their very prosperity makes them worse.

CHAPTER 22. "Or making a word of yours, will you cross-examine, and will he enter into judgment with you?" He is so loving toward humanity that even when judging us he permits us to speak to him, as one judged together with us, about whatever we wish. For he says in Isaiah: "Come, and let us reason together." And "let us reason together" is of this sort: If you have anything to cross-examine me with, as one who has not done what is required, say it; and I, whatever I have to say, will persuade you, condemning you as worthy of condemnation. CHAPTER 23. "And who then would know, that I might find him, and come to the end?" [But Symmachus: "As far as his seat."] "And I might speak judgment of myself" [in place of which again Symmachus: "I will add judgment before him"]. "And to fill my mouth with reproofs, and that I might know the healings that he will speak to me." [But Symmachus: "words."] "And that I might perceive what he will report to me, and he will come upon me with great strength." [Symmachus: "He will plead my case."] "Then he will not use threats against me." [Symmachus: "Only let him not lay hands on me."] "For truth and reproof are with him; and may he bring my judgment to the end." What is gathered from the passage is this: Who then would grant me God hearing me and answering me? For he would have justified me. And in detail: Would that it were, he says, to find God; would that it were to come as far as the divine throne, and to stand by, and to converse with him, and to plead, and to receive the verdict from there; would that, having come to that divine judgment seat, I had lamented all the things that I have suffered, and had spoken also the things I have lived;

so that by speaking before him, both what I have done and what I have suffered, I might learn through experience what kind of judgment he brings forth, and what he says in response to these things as a healing for my perplexity; and whether he comes upon me with strength, punishing me more severely, or relaxes his threat. For even if he uses great strength against me, and threats, nevertheless I know that truth is with him, and that he brings forth his reproofs—that is, his judgments—without partiality; and I am persuaded that, if I had encountered this, I would have received the deciding vote against you. For the phrase "to the end" he uses in place of "perfected"; among the Hebrews, "end" and "victory" are signified by a single word; therefore in some of the psalms, instead of "to the end," it is inscribed "to the giver of victory." "I wished, then," he says, "to learn what God was going to say to me, and whether he was going to punish me in the same way." He says these things, not as condemning God of injustice, but as reproving friends who do not hold a sound opinion concerning him. Do you see how he obtained what he prayed for? For this has come about at the end of the book, and he obtained divine converse and an answer. "But if he himself has judged thus, who is there who has contradicted him? For he himself willed, and he did it." "He knows," he says, "my way, and that I have always been eager to obey him; but who, when he judges, will contradict him? For the things I am conscious of in myself are these; nevertheless let what seems good to God prevail, and let no one oppose his judgments. For even if he condemned me while I was acting righteously, and deemed that I should suffer these things, who could contradict? Surely no one; for he has power running together with his will, and what seems good to him comes to be.

Do not demand from me accounts of divine providence; one thing I know, that I am conscious of nothing against myself; but if I am tested in terrible circumstances, I do not interrogate God's governance, but, ignorant of the reason, I say that he has done what he willed, and bowing down I worship, prying into nothing further. "On this account let me be brought into earnest heed from his presence; I will consider, and I will be terrified because of him." I have not sinned, he says; and what of that? For it is not only on account of sins that God is permitted to punish, but also apart from these. "But the Lord has softened my heart, and the Almighty has made me earnest; for I did not know that darkness would come upon me, and a mist has covered it before my face." For this did not happen according to human sequence, he says—the evil was unexpected; I surmise that the blow is from the hand of God. And well did he say, Before my face; for the darkness is not common, but belongs to my own despondency. CHAPTER 25. "And Baldad the Sauchite answered and said: What then is a prelude, or fear, from him?" From here, he says, I will begin my speech, and I will make a prelude. All things are full of fear and trembling, and there is no one who will be able to escape that hand. Moreover, in response to Job's having said, "For who would know that I shall go to him?" he says that before all things even the mention of God is fearful. "For how shall a mortal be righteous before the Lord? Or who, born of woman, could cleanse him?" For since Job was saying, "I wished to come to judgment," and, "Even if I have not sinned, nevertheless I am punished"—

To this again he says, that there is no one righteous among men, nor pure at all, so that you are superfluously seeking judgment and examination. CHAPTER 26 “And Job, taking up the discourse, says: To whom are you attached, or whom are you about to help? Is it not to him who has great strength, and whose arm is mighty?” Neither do I, he says, bring an accusation, because you have undertaken the part of God; for so it was necessary; but you ought not to condemn me; for it is possible both to speak the word on behalf of God, and not to let this same word become liable to accusations. Having said these things to him mockingly, as to one wishing to appear a newer advocate of God than God himself, concerning whom all have the opinion that he is wise and powerful, he turns the discourse to the power of God, showing that he would do better to glorify the things concerning the strength of God, and he says: CHAPTER 28 “He has set order for the darkness, and he himself accurately searches out every limit.” He spoke well: “He has set order for the darkness,” showing that he knows how to yield and to withdraw. Who drives away that gloom? Whence such good order in such a matter? Then he recounts his power, then his wisdom, persuading him not to wish to demand accounts from him. For, he says, God wisely searches out accurately the limits and the outcomes of all things, comprehending all things together by his incomprehensible providence; therefore he neither postpones punishments against the impious to no purpose, nor brings them on in vain, having ordered all things by measure, and order, and harmony.

And he said to man, “Behold, godliness is wisdom, and to abstain from evil is knowledge.” This is the greatest wisdom—to be godly, not to busy oneself with curiosities and to demand an accounting of what comes to pass; nothing is equal to this art, nothing is more powerful than this wisdom, nothing is better than godliness. CHAPTER 29 “For I saved the poor man from the hand of the powerful, and I helped the orphan who had no helper.” But first, having committed his oversight and his guard to God, then he boasts in the Lord. Observe him, not taking pride in abstaining from evils, not in sacrifices, as the Jews do, but in this which God wills. For, he says, judge the orphan, and justify the widow; and concerning the practice of good deeds, he says, “For I saved the poor man, and I helped the orphan.” “May the blessing of the perishing come upon me. [But Symmachus has: it came.] And the mouth of the widow blessed me.” But you know that the race of widows is somehow ungrateful, not by their own nature, nor by choice, but by the necessity of poverty; for it is a furnace of poverty; and it is a difficult thing to praise the one who does good; yet even these blessed Job. And his valiant deeds are recorded, that we may emulate them. “But I had clothed myself in righteousness, and I had put on judgment as a double cloak.” And reasonably, after saying, “I saved the poor man from the hand of the powerful,” he added, “I had clothed myself in righteousness”; for there are those who champion others but often do injustice themselves; but he was not so; but, he says, “I had put on judgment,” thus I was adorned.

And yet others are vexed at the matter, are indignant, and consider it burdensome and heavy—but not I, he says; rather, just as one might take pride in a cloak, so I take pride in righteous judgment—not today yes and tomorrow no, but just as it is necessary to have clothes all the time, so too the avenging of those who are powerless. And yet who appointed him judge? He became a self-appointed judge by virtue of virtue itself, just like Moses; such ought rulers to be. You saw this man in his trials, as far as it was possible for you to see (for the discourse itself could not fully present the exactness; for the pain, and the tortures, and the tyranny of despondency, and the turmoil arising from so many snowstorms—no power of speech can interpret these to those who have heard, as the actual experience of the events itself can). Come, I will show him to you again; for this too is no small thing, but requires a most philosophical soul—displaying great philosophy in wealth and in prosperity. Who then was he, being rich? A common harbor of all, a common father of all, a common physician, or rather greater than a physician. Hear him then speaking: “I was an eye to the blind, and a foot to the lame.” Do you see how he was greater than a physician? Instead of nature he became these things to the maimed, and the things which they could not by their

To correct by skill, these things he himself procured by his consolation, becoming in place of their limbs through his great providence toward them; for just as those who are healthy, and sound of foot, and seeing, so were those who had been maimed in these limbs disposed, not perceiving their lameness, nor their blindness, because of his great providence. For this reason he did not say, "I consoled the lame and the blind," he did not say, "I lightened their misfortune," nor "I removed the perception of their blindness"; but, "I was their eye," "They saw through me," "They did not experience their own misfortune because of me," "They did not seek those to lead them by the hand, those to guide them." Everywhere he made darkness light for them. Observe apostolic signs: "I was an eye to the blind," not restoring eyes (for this grace was not yet), but causing them not even to perceive their misfortune; but those now even make the seeing blind. He did not say, "I did these things through my servants"; but, "I myself corrected the defects of nature," not only those that come from men, but also those that come from nature itself; for the missing limbs of the body I supplied to those in need by the provision of necessities, and by great forethought. And with respect to the mind, he opened blind understandings, and benefited those maimed in soul, and himself became their eye; and feet he granted to those lame in the feet of the soul, and by his word he became their foot, and led both by the hand. The eye is taken for intellectual guidance, and the foot for ethical. "I was a father to the weak." Nor here did he say, "I consoled orphans.

But I did not allow any awareness of orphanhood to arise, nor the calamity to appear—just as there, by the abundance of my providence, I removed the mutilation, and even the very perception of the calamities from those who had suffered such things. In these words are shown the cries of one who helps the powerless, the weak. And observe after how much time he says these things: "And a cause that I did not know, I searched out." This is far more than a judge does; for judges sit waiting for those who have been wronged, and after their petition, then the most esteemed of judges provide their own assistance—though most do not even do this. But this man surpassed even the most esteemed, and excelled by a great margin; for he did not wait for the wronged to come to him, nor did he provide assistance after their petition, but going about beforehand he sought out the wronged; and not simply seeking, but with great vigilance, with great care. And you will know this clearly by understanding the force of the expression; for he did not say, "I sought," but, "A cause that I did not know I searched out, I investigated, I examined thoroughly, I continued busying myself, setting everything in motion, so as to find whether anyone wronged might escape notice." Do you see the protection—not extending only to money, nor only to food and clothing, but even to dangers I stood as protector of another's judgment. "From the midst of their teeth I snatched away the prey." Observe the difficulty of the matter. The matter, he says, already swallowed down and seized beforehand, I set upright.

For I did not despair, nor did I give up, even though the matter had been forestalled, but I was already recovering even what had been swallowed down, displaying the providence of some excellent and sober shepherd toward his fellow servants, and snatching, as it is said, out of the mouth of the lion legs of a sheep and tips of ears. "And they rejoiced exceedingly whenever I spoke to them; like thirsty land receiving the rain, so were they toward my speech." Observe what he says: It was not his wealth that made him enviable, nor his standing up for the wronged, nor anything else of that sort; but all listened to him with pleasure. CHAPTER 30 "Now those whose fathers I disdained are reproaching me in turn; whom I did not consider worthy; the nomads of my dogs." But why did he say "I disdained"? Not employing disdain arrogantly, but knowing clearly that they were wicked; according to the text: "The one who does wickedly is disdained before him"; for such people he considered as nothing. And the phrase "They reproach me in turn," in my view, is not because they were laying down a portion of beneficence, but because he himself used to reproach others, and now these reproach him; for this reason it was said thus; and their not being worthy of dogs, not because they are worse even than this barking animal, but because he judged them not even worthy of tending the dogs. For I did not consider them, he says, worthy to lead the dogs of my flock. He set aside their reproach, then, as having neither the respectability that comes from age nor that from virtue. For they reproached, he says—who? whom? The younger the one older than they; the base the one not such; the cheap and undistinguished the one once brilliant and distinguished.

And in what follows immediately and in sequence, he also hints at their weakness, saying: "But I wept for every helpless person; I groaned when I saw a man in distress. But I, while holding fast to good things, behold, days of evil met me rather." And yet, though I was in wealth, I did nothing of the sort; I did not rejoice at the misfortunes of others—which is what I am suffering now, finding many who rejoice at my evils—but on the contrary, I both wept and groaned. And this too is no small thing, beloved, to have a compassionate mind. But the phrase "I held fast to good things, and days of evil met me," I understand thus: because of my sympathy toward others I expected good things, but the outcome of my hopes turned out the opposite for me. Symmachus also rendered it this way: "I was expecting good things, but evils came." CHAPTER 31: "I made a covenant with my eyes, and I did not understand upon a virgin." [But Symmachus: "And I thought nothing concerning a virgin."] Job kept gospel exactness; for the things which Christ, coming afterward, commanded, these he accomplished through his deeds. And since he who looks in order to desire has already committed adultery, he trained his eye not to busy itself with the youthful bloom of virgins. What would those say who keep live-in companions and insist that they live with them without passion and are not harmed? Since, even if this were so, one ought to spare those who are caused to stumble. For let it be granted that you, even living with a virgin, are pure of every evil passion—but you strike others who are weaker. And yet the blessed Job did not dare to testify such great strength and philosophy to himself.

But he who had gone through every virtue, and had risen above all the snares of the devil, and was the first and only one to display such great endurance, and who surpassed all iron and adamant by the self-control of his soul, and who cut down the devil's strength—he so feared such a contest, and considered it impossible for one living with a virgin to remain unharmed and pure, that he not only removed himself far and away from such cohabitation, but also from the mere sight that comes from chance encounter, and he set a law for his own eyes, not to look at a virgin at all. For, he says, I made a covenant with my eyes, and I will not understand upon a virgin—that is, I will not consider, I will not look. For he knew, he knew clearly, that not only the one living with her, but also the one who looks curiously upon a virgin's face, finds it difficult, and perhaps even impossible, to escape the harm that comes from there. But if Job seems to you too small for a contest—though we are not even worthy of his dung-heap—nevertheless, if you think the example is less than your greatness of soul, consider the blessed Paul, who after his exact philosophy buffeted his body and brought it into slavery, and showed his life to be one of struggle. For this reason Christ also, revealing the difficulty of the matter, did not permit even to look simply at women's faces; but by the punishment of adulterers, he threatened to punish those who look in this way; and he did not legislate celibacy, but revealing the nature of the matter, he said: Let the one who is able to receive it, receive it.

But the powerless did not fail to obtain the need they once had.” Do you see how he was not disdainful, how moderate, how he was a common physician of all, and a common harbor, and a common refuge of those in necessity—the need they once had, he says, he did not supply to one and not to another, but whatever kind it was, even if it involved dangers, even if it was costly, even if it was precarious. And observe, he helped those from whom he expected nothing—widows, orphans, and the powerless. “For the fear of the Lord seized me, and from his taking I shall not endure.” But such was the philanthropia of the righteous man; what then would one say of his contempt for money? For indeed this too he accomplished to excess; for he not only did not covet what belonged to others, which is what most people suffer now, but not even his own things—rather, he was estranged even from these with all excess; therefore he also said: “If I set gold as my dust. [But Symmachus: my fearlessness.] If I also trusted in a precious stone, if I also rejoiced when much wealth came to me.” For this reason, even when they were taken away, he bore it with great ease; and when present, he practiced abundant almsgiving; for he pursued every virtue; and he was disposed more strictly than those who have nothing, though clothed with so much; for the one who has nothing was not so detached from money as that man, who had so much; for everywhere it is the disposition that is crowned. “If I also laid my hand on countless things.” For that Job did not cling exceedingly even to goods when present, hear what he says: If I also rejoiced when much wealth came to me. What do you say, man? Do you not rejoice when wealth flows in? By no means, he says.

Why ever so? Because I knew its instability and its flowing away; I knew that the possession is not lasting. “Or do we not see the sun that shines upon us, failing, and the moon waning? For it is not in their power.” What he says is of this sort: If the stars in heaven, and those that shine continually, admit some change—the sun failing, the moon waning—how is it not the utmost folly to think that earthly things are lasting and fixed? For this reason, he neither rejoiced when they were present nor grieved when they departed, since he well knew their nature. This bright light perishes and vanishes and is not seen. Do you see what cause he states for the change of the luminaries? So the creation is sufficient for us also for philosophy, not only for the knowledge of God. When you see that the sun is great, marvel at the Creator; when you see that it fails, learn thoroughly the corruptibility of human affairs. For if that which is brightest of all things on the earth—this, he says—both diminishes and comes to an end, much more all the rest; if that which is so useful and necessary, and without which it is not possible to live, admits change, much more the superfluous things, and those that do not lie before us as necessary. “And if my maidservants also said many times, Who would give us to be filled with his flesh, he being exceedingly kind to me?” Was he, then, humble, and not rather desirable and lovely? Observe here too the hyperbole; for just as in dreadful circumstances he bore what was brought upon him with all vehemence, so also in prosperity he accomplished each virtue with great abundance, not simply nor as it happened, but arriving at the very summit.

Thus he showed himself gentle, not only toward others, but also toward his household servants; for from this comes all equanimity, when one is humane and not violent toward the one subject to him. So the servants said: "Who would give us to be filled with his flesh?" Here he describes the mad love of the servants which they had for him, having become fervent lovers of him, from what he himself displayed toward them. For thus, he says, they hung upon me, thus they clung to me, thus they were fastened to me, thus they loved, as to desire even to be filled with his very flesh [to devour and consume it], because of loving exceedingly and being inflamed; so very kind and sweet was I to the maidservants, that if it were possible even to be filled with my very flesh, they would gladly have done this. "And no stranger lodged outside, and my door was opened to everyone who came." This is the mark of hospitality and of Abrahamic nobility. Common, he says, I kept my house, common my table, not counting my own things as my own, but as the Master's. The Lord gave; therefore let the ration of grain be distributed to fellow servants. You saw the humility, you saw the humanity, you saw the kindness, you saw the abundance, that the good was common, stretching out the right hand to all, and opening the house. For he did not do what most people do, who busy themselves and meddle with those who receive; but, "My door," he says, "was opened to all, and no one lodged outside." "And if I sinned involuntarily and hid my sin,

For I was not ashamed of the great crowd of many people, so as not to confess before them. Speak your sins first, that you may be justified. Of successes, then, he says, I made no one a witness, but of my failings I wished all to be my fellow-knowers; therefore I was not ashamed of the great crowd of the city to confess my own failing before them. "But if I also let an impossible door go out from my bosom empty—who would give me one to hear me?" What he means is this: If I overlooked the one in need, let no one hear me either. See, he did not say, "I gave to the one who came," but, "I did not permit even the one unwilling." He brought force upon those who even willingly wished to pass him by; for he knew the matter, that it is a source of abundance. As much zeal, then, as the poor showed in troubling those able to extend a hand, so much did he put forth in troubling those who ought to be well treated, and he did not let them go out with an empty bosom; for he not only healed them by receiving them, but in addition to feeding them, he also supplied provisions for the poverty that followed, richly and cheerfully.

CHAPTER 32. "And Elihu the son of Barachiel, the Buzite, answered and said: I am younger in time, but you are older; therefore I kept silent, fearing to declare to you my own knowledge." So then, from both sides we estimate his understanding, both from his silence and from his speech. For lest anyone say, "And for what reason did you not contend with us on God's behalf from the beginning?" he takes refuge in his age, and says that, expecting something noble and wonderful to be spoken by you, I kept silent. See how free from love of honor he was, how he yielded the first place to them. "And behold, there was no one among you who, reproving Job, answered his words." Either, then, he says this: that not even when you were reproving did you reprove as was fitting; or that you later fell silent. But certainly, he says, you could not say, "We did this very thing wisely, because we were joined to God's portion and undertook the arguments on his behalf"; for you sinned nonetheless, both because you were unable to reprove Job, and because you tolerated him speaking such things—so that this too was among your follies—and you cannot say that you found grace and wisdom from God, inasmuch as

advocating for him; for you have been defeated by Job. "They were dismayed, they answered no more; they failed for words from themselves; I waited, for I did not speak, because they stood still, they answered not." Some say that these two verses are not Elihu's but the writer's, who inserted in between the silence of the friends; but I say that these too are Elihu's, and there is here a figure of speech called apostrophe; for as though conversing in between with another, he says concerning them, that "Therefore I speak, since these were struck dumb by Job's words, and showed their own words to be old and rotten and useless through their silence"; whence he adds: "But I waited, and did not speak, thinking they would be able to reply"; but since they stood still and could not proceed further, checked by Job's words, I came forward to refute what was said. "And my belly is like a wineskin of sweet wine bound and boiling. [But Symmachus: Like new wine without vent.] Or like a blacksmith's bellows burst." Here it is shown that Elihu, long in labor to speak, waited and endured, and was ready to burst, so that there was need of much endurance; which is especially the work of wisdom, to be able to restrain words.

CHAPTER 35. "From the multitude of those who are slandered they will cry out, they will call for help from the arm of many. And he did not say, Where is God, who made me, who appoints the night watches?" Chrysostom and Origen. Or do you not see, as in a camp, all things arranged, and each one with greater exactness remaining in its proper order, none of all things overstepping its own boundary, nor rushing upon the places of others? At any rate, while men sleep, no one plots; when the wild beasts roam, then these sleep. But observe that Job recites praises and hymns of God, saying concerning him, "Who appoints the night watches." Do you wish to see how God appoints the night watches? This whole age is night, it is darkness; the light is kept in store for you; for now you see through a mirror, but you will one day see the light; therefore this whole age is night, and there is need of watches appointed for this night, so that the watchmen, those set over the nights, may guard those who are in the night from robbers, from wild beasts, from enemies. Who are the watchmen? The angels who encamp. "But be judged before him, if you are able to praise him, as he is even now." Olympiodorus and Chrysostom. Reckon, he says, the worth of God, whether your reasoning could contain the hymn. Why then do you wish to be judged against one so great and so mighty, when you are not even able to hymn him according to his worth? and that too, in the very matters for which he now punishes you.

For if, he says, he had sat as a judge and set forth the ordinances, you would not have praised him, you would not have glorified him as he deserves for the things that have now happened to you, when you think you are being wronged and punished; for to be unable to hymn God as he deserves is no great thing; but for one who is about to be judged before him, in the matters that concern us, to be unable to hymn him as he deserves—this is the great thing. CHAPTER 38. "And after Elihu had ceased speaking, the Lord spoke to Job through a whirlwind and clouds." Since a cloud is a symbol of heaven, as if wishing to set heaven itself before Job, he brought, as it were, his own throne near to him, so as to rouse his mind and persuade him that this voice comes from above, just as also at the mercy-seat of the ark; this, it seems to me, also happened at the mountain, when the cloud came upon it, so that they might learn that the voice was from above. "Who is this that hides counsel from me? [Symmachus: Dark in counsel,] and holds words in his heart, and thinks to hide them from me?" See what he does; it seems to me, judging from these words, that something else enters his mind. For since there were many things that Job had in his mind and did not dare to bring into the open, from this first point he rouses him and shows that he provides for human affairs and knows all things clearly; so that he begins from those earlier matters, the ones more inexcusable. For if the things he dared to say were so burdensome and offensive, much more those; therefore he applies the remedy to the former first: Who is this? he says. At the same time, from the very outset he shows the middle of God, as it were—

Who is this that tries to hide from me," tell me, "from him who knows hidden things with exactness? For is it not because you did not speak them that they are not words? It was brought forth, and it became a word; so you wish to hide in vain things that cannot be hidden. Do you see how gently, how correctively and convictingly he converses? "Gird your loins like a man; I will question you, and you answer me." Since he was cast down by despondency, he rouses him by these words, so that he attends to what is said; and he advances the argument by way of question, which is the most convicting of all; and he shows that he does all things with wisdom and understanding, and that it was not for him who works so many things with wisdom to overlook a man, for whose sake he fashioned all things, suffering badly as it happened. We learn mysteries that are truly hidden; and what was said to Job was said not so much to him as to us: "Gird your loins like a man"; for we too need this eagerness and rousing. "Where were you when I founded the earth?" What are you saying, he says? I established the earth with such exactness for your sake, and shall I overlook you, for whose sake I made it? Therefore he does not speak of the wisdom of the formation, nor of the creation according to its construction, but out of abundance, from the earth, from the heaven, showing that if the world enjoys so great a providence for your sake, how much more you? He did not say, "When I made," but, "When I founded"; for its very standing was a work of great skill—to fit together so great a mass of body without a foundation, without a base, without a substructure, and to fix it so firmly that in so great a time it has not been shaken.

Who set its measures, if you know? Or who stretched a measuring line upon it?" Is it, then, that the earth has come to be so great merely in a simple way, and not as it happened? But it seems to me that even if some chance addition were made, it would be out of place, and if it were removed in like manner by the word, it would ruin the whole; and this is what the measures and the measuring line hint at. "And I set boundaries for it, surrounding it with bars and gates." Here he shows that it stands so securely, as though bound. By this, then, he shows its security; by what follows, its ease. For he adds: "To shake out the ungodly from it." He is speaking of robbers, and tomb-robbers, and all the others who use the night for their own wickedness; for these, when the light has risen, no longer have boldness upon the earth, but are shaken out from it and shrink back; for they hate the light, as it exposes them. "Or did you, taking earth, clay, form a living creature, and make it able to speak upon the earth?" Of Olympiodorus, Severus, and Chrysostom. But you, he says, O Job, taking dust moistened with water, did you form a man from the earth? And did you adorn him with reason, as I did? And did you show him forth as a cosmos of the cosmos? Whence it is clear that other things did not possess the rational; for he would not have attached it to man as something exceptional; for "able to speak," he says, means the rational living creature. And the phrase "to be set upon the earth" means to be appointed to rule over all things upon the earth.

For my part, I marvel at God for both these reasons: that he made the human body corruptible, and that in its corruption he displayed his own power and wisdom. For the cheapness of the substance most of all shows the resourcefulness and ingenuity of the craft—that in clay and ashes he placed so great a harmony, and such senses, so varied and manifold, and able to philosophize on such things. For from earth—the material from which only a potsherd and a brick are made—he was able to make an eye so beautiful, and to set forth in it so great a power, that by the grasp of a small pupil it sees so many things and encompasses bodies. "Have you come to the treasuries of snow? Or have you seen the treasuries of hail? And are they kept in store for you against the season of enemies, for the day of wars and battle?" Of Chrysostom and Olympiodorus. He calls them treasuries, not because they are storehouses, but because he shows them readily, just as if bringing them out from treasuries, whenever he wishes. Do you know, then, he says, how I cause the snow and hail that do not appear to come forth? Or are you able to use these against enemies, which I am able to do? You see that he wishes to make clear this timeliness—that this happens at the right time, and not simply so; for he uses snow and hail against enemies, and whenever he wishes to punish certain people. Then he also goes through all the others—rains, I mean, and frost, and winds. "Will you send forth lightnings, and will they go? And will they say to you, What is it?" You see that even lightnings answer; not that the lightnings will say, "What is it?" but that all things, as if living, thus obey God.

Who gave women skill in weaving, or the knowledge of embroidery?" This is from Severus, Chrysostom, and Gregory the Theologian. Recounting the making of heaven and earth, the bars of the sea, the placing of the stars, the falling of rain, and the other things by which he governs our life, he says: Who made women wise—though in other respects they are weak—for the crafting of woven cloth, and for embroidering these with the dyes and colors of wools? Divine Scripture mingles small things with great, and admires the wisdom of women in woven things, saying, "Who gave women skill in weaving, and the knowledge of embroidery?" This belongs to a rational and excellent creature, whose wisdom travels even to the heavenly things; for this skill is not any ordinary skill, being variegated, nor is its use small. So the craftsmanship concerning the loom is not neglected, nor cast aside as superfluous, but divine wisdom is present even in these things, and it is a wisdom which God is not ashamed to call his own, saying that another is not the giver and provider of it, but himself. "Will you hunt prey for the lions, and fill the souls of dragons? For they fear in their lairs, and sit in the woods lying in wait." For whose sake does he say this? Because if I take such forethought for superfluous things, things not even useful to you for service, how much more for you? For what profit so great comes to man from such things?

CHAPTER 39. "If you knew the time of the birth of the rock-goats, and watched over the pangs of the deer, and numbered their months full of their birth, and loosed their pangs, and nourished their young without fear—and will you send forth their pangs?" Well did he say, "you watched over": for since this creature is always in flight, in fear, and in weakness, always leaping and springing, how, he says, does it not miscarry, but the birth comes forth complete? And the phrase, "you loosed their pangs," is spoken vividly; for they give birth of themselves, needing no midwifery. And the phrase, "you nourished their young without fear"? Theodotion interpreted it more clearly, saying: "If they give their young, will you save them?" And the phrase, "will you send forth their pangs?" If you understand "their pangs" as the suffering, then "you will send forth" is used in place of "you will stop"; for "you will stop," he says, "the pangs"; but if you take it as "those that have been in labor and have given birth," then "you will send forth" means "you will send them out"; which Symmachus also hinted at, rendering: "Those whom they bore in labor they leave behind"; for after nourishing the newborn, they let them go wherever they wish to go. The following verse also presents this same thought: "And who is he who sent the wild ass free, and who loosed his bonds?" Who, he says, fashioned this? Who established the laws of nature? For that the laws are perpetual and are not corrupted—this strong and untamable creature, even if you strive ten thousand ways, you will not bring under your hand.

Or have you given the horse strength [but Theodotion and Symmachus rendered it, the one as 'neighing,' the other as 'cry'], and clothed his neck with terror?" He moves the discourse to the most useful matters, making mention of the horse—the tame horse—and he converses at length about this animal: how proud it is, how upright, how suited for war, how able to save a man. Do you see each one proud, both the donkey and this one? But the one is submissive, the other is not. "It will not believe until the trumpet sounds." It hears, he says, the trumpet, and knows the signal of war, and from afar it cries out the war-cry. "And from your knowledge does the hawk stand, spreading its wings motionless, looking toward the South." See how much he says from few words. For what reason did he not mention the ox, nor the sheep, nor any of the other such animals, but those that are useless and seem to be in vain? Showing that if in those there is so much wisdom and providence, much more in these. CHAPTER 40. "Or is your arm against the Lord?" What he intends for me, he says, concerning men, is clear from there—from the things he oversees, and the lofty things, and the Providence in the animals—it has been asked. But for what reason I brought this trial upon you, you have now heard: that the cause of the abandonment is the manifestation of your virtue, so that you might give proof of it. But here learn my power, and that it was not in war that I allowed you to be struck; since what strength is yours, that I should be set against you even for war? Or is your arm against the arm of the Lord? Or do you have strength of equal power?

Do you thunder at him with your voice?" So the thunder, and all the rest, is not for display but for the knowledge of God. See through how many things he convicts the lowliness of his nature. And he does not say, "You are lowly," but, "I am great, and you cannot do what I do." "But behold, wild beasts are with you; they eat grass like oxen." It is possible to understand this verse also of perceptible wild beasts, which often, when God wills it, have forgotten their nature; for the marvelous thing is that the beast is not blood-devouring but feeds on the food of the ox. Since, then, this is paradoxical, he asks Job whether such a thing also happens with him, so that wild beasts eat grass and not flesh. Then he speaks of two things, the one land-dwelling, the other aquatic and of the sea. And we are not unaware that many think these things were said about the devil, interpreting them in an anagogical sense; but one must first take care of the history, and not neglect when it is possible to benefit the hearer also from the anagogical interpretation. "And nations feed on him, and the nations of the Phoenicians divide him." [But Aquila: They shall halve him among the Canaanites.] So great is the bulk of his body that it was able to suffice for a whole nation. For he does not say these things as though this were going to happen. And he mentioned the Phoenicians because of their trade.

CHAPTER 42 "Therefore I have despised myself and melted away, and I have reckoned myself earth and ashes." These words are a defense concerning all that came before; for he does not say this after being released from the trial, but while still in the midst of terrors he sang a palinode. "I count myself as nothing," he says; "I make a defense concerning my former words, and I was unworthy even of these." What then does God do? Since he condemned himself, then He justified him. And observe the holy men: how, when they are deemed worthy of greater things, they acquire greater humility. So too Abraham, when he saw the Lord, said, "But I am earth and ashes." "Now then take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and he shall offer a sacrifice for you." He would not have commanded this if the law were in force; but He Himself becomes priest, while they bring the sacrifices. And see: he offered for his children, and he offers for his friends. Do you see how, showing his forgetfulness of wrongs, He makes them witnesses of the man's virtue? And He shows the greatness of the sin, both through the abundance of the offering—for he would not have needed so many victims if the sins that had to be forgiven were not great—and He indicates that not even a sacrifice was sufficient. "For unless," He says, "it were for his sake, I would not have forgiven you your sin." Through this He shows that He also absolved them. "And the Lord gave double of whatever Job had before, for a doubling." God let the devil display all his power.

And when he had emptied all his arrows, and no manner of assault remained, then he brought the athlete up from the pit, so that the victory might be brilliant and beyond dispute. "Now he was the son of Zare on his father's side, from the sons of Esau, and of Bosorrha on his mother's side; so that he was the fifth from Abraham." When this righteous man was shining, the Jews were still in Egypt; they were about to depart at last; so that, if they had wished, they would have found no small kindling of piety; for it was not likely that it should go unnoticed. For if even now the remains are shown, much more would they have been shown then, when the events were fresh, and the magnitude of what had happened, and all those in Arabia would have known it. "And the friends who came to him: Eliphaz, of the sons of Esau, king of the Temanites [but Theodotion rendered it, Son, of Josaphat], Baldad the tyrant of the Sauchaeans [again Theodotion, Son of Ammon of Chobor], Sophar the king of the Minaians." And let each of those who read, as if looking at this noble athlete as at some archetypal image, imitate his courage, be zealous for his endurance, so that, having walked the same road and having arrayed himself nobly against all the devices of the devil, he may be able to attain the good things promised to those who love God; and that the sufferings of this blessed man may become medicines for our evils, and his grievous tempest a harbor for our calamities. And in each of the things that befall us let us consider the Saint; and seeing the terrors of the world standing as one body, let us be nobly disposed in the particular cases.

And just as to a loving mother, who stretches out her hands on every side and receives and revives her frightened children, so let us always flee to this book; and even if the most pitiable and longest terrors come upon us, having received sufficient consolation in every way, we shall so depart by the grace of Christ the true God; with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.