In Job

To the righteous and blessed Job, Discourse 1. 1. Today the yearly athlete of the world has come to us; the stranger and contender of equal honor with the angels has come to us, the one struck many times by the devil and testified to many times by God; the one battered many times by the devil and receiving many prizes from the angels as spectators; the one scourged many times by the Enemy and proclaimed a great champion by God to the world. For thus he himself, speaking to himself, said: Do you think I have dealt with you otherwise than that you might appear righteous? Who then can worthily praise such a hero as this? Who will dare to weave prizes worthy of his valiant deeds? Who will attempt to ascend to the boundless sea of praises? For just as none of those who have understanding would ever dare to cross the sea's expanse with human steps, so too none of the wise and very learned will ever attempt to recount to their hearers the praises worthy of that noble and thrice-blessed soul. For his achievements surpass all human wisdom; his struggles surpass all crowning. Therefore we need an angelic tongue, so that, having touched that myrrh-jar, so to speak, with the very tips of our fingers, we may fill the whole church at once. For if only we attempt to touch the vessel of Job and shake it a little, immediately the church is filled with the fragrance of the myrrh. Let us hear, then, the history concerning him saying:

In all these things that happened to him, Job sinned not with his lips before the Lord. Did you see the testimony that stirs up the praise of the angels? Did you see the testimony that puts the devil to shame together with his schemes? In all these things that happened to him he sinned not. This testimony of God, throughout every church, like a precious ointment, gladdens those who hear. O the precious vessel laid up in one place in Arabia, and sending forth the fragrance of its ointment throughout the whole inhabited world! O the vessel struck by the devil with countless stones and blows and arrows, yet not pouring out its ointment! Great was the devil's toil, that he might shatter the vessel and destroy the ointment of piety; and he strove through the stench of the wounds to dim the sweetness of the ointment. For indeed his body reeked from the ulceration of the wounds; but the vessel remained though wounded, and the ointment was not lost, so that we too might fittingly say to him: Your name is ointment poured forth. Since therefore he was naked as he wrestled, it was necessary to raise up the athlete, so that looking at that wondrous image we might be fully assured through the nature of the events themselves that God, wishing to show the devil that he has righteous men on the earth, no longer deceived by flattery as Adam was, but crowned through countless torments and scourges, permitted this drama to take place. Apostate, he says, you are proud, because having deceived Adam and flattered the woman, you cast them out of paradise.

Behold, a man who lived without the commands of Scripture, and who by his understanding set right the unwritten law of nature. Bring on countless flatteries, countless blandishments, countless tortures, if you are able to shake that most excellent soul. Behold, you cast the first man out of paradise. Look now, make your attempt, if you can, to trip up the athlete even from the dung heap. But, if it seems good, let us run back a little from the beginning to the story itself: There was a certain man in the land of Ausitis, whose name was Job. And that man was blameless, just, God-fearing, true, abstaining from every evil thing. Such was Adam also before he was persuaded by the woman. For this reason this man is not persuaded by the woman, so that he might not become like that one. That one was clothed in incorruption, as the one who formed him knows, and in order to be persuaded by the woman he became naked, and was condemned. This man was naked, and was not persuaded by the woman, and in order not to be persuaded by the woman he put on the crown-bearing of the angels. That one, in order to be persuaded by the woman, both fell out of the luxury of paradise, and made the earth a mother of thorns, and inherited death; this man, in order not to be persuaded by the woman, both received freedom from the dung heap and the blows, and inherited the kingdom of the heavens. That one, defending himself to God, said: The woman whom you gave me, she gave to me, and I ate. O defense that has no pardon! She said, Eat; I said, Do not eat. Why then did you listen to the woman, and disobey God? But the blessed Job was not like this. But how? He said with reproof:

You spoke like one of the foolish women. There was a man in the land of Ausitis, whose name was Job. But why did he name the land? For your sake, so that you may learn that it is not the company of sinners that can make the righteous man sin, but the purpose of the pious ought to keep their judgment firm and steadfast. For this land of Arabia is a dwelling place of wicked and corrupt men. All were lawless, all hateful to God, all profane, all arrogant, and descendants of Esau, and vaunting in their sins; but so great a sea of impiety could not extinguish the lamp of piety; so great a land of evils could not drown the beauty of endurance. Whence the devil attempted to approach him. Why? Because he saw that he was rich in almsgiving rather than in money. For hear him saying truthfully: I was an eye to the blind, and a foot to the lame; and again, I wept over the helpless, and I groaned when I saw a man in distress. And not only through words, but also through deeds he was exceedingly rich, being found a whole treasury of beneficence to those in need. For what does he say elsewhere? The needy did not go out from my house with an empty bosom; the mouth of the widow blessed me; and from the shearing of my sheep the shoulders of the poor were warmed. So it is clear that through all things he was rich, a whole treasury, both through words and through deeds, and through almsgiving, and through the protection of the poor, and through the aid of those in need. But see what the devil does.

He takes away all his possessions from him first, and last he takes his children. First he took the herds of camels, he took the flocks of sheep, the great number of donkeys, the largest herd of cattle; he took everything away, and last the children. Why? Pay attention now with all exactness: First he took all his possessions, then the children; he took the inherited things, then he destroyed the heirs, so that in every way he might strike him even through the children. First he began to destroy the substance, first he began to snatch the inherited things while the heirs were still living, so that, while the sons and daughters stood, through the loss of the possessions the righteous man might receive a fatal blow of despondency. For the evil demon was thinking, lest, if the children perished first, he might not even come to a perception of the loss of the possessions. But the truly adamantine and noble athlete, the one struck many times and crowned through all things, the one receiving many arrows and through those very arrows spearing the devil, the one armed through the weapons of righteousness on the right and on the left, did not grow weary, did not weep, was not shaken, but neither was he bent toward the loss of possessions, nor was his piety plundered toward the death of the children, but he remained like an unshaken tower, down here on the earth

rooted and grounded, and secured even to the very vaults of heaven. A first messenger came and said to Job: The yokes of oxen were plowing, and the raiders came and took them captive, and killed the servants with swords. While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said to Job: Fire fell from heaven and burned up your sheep, and likewise consumed the shepherds. 2. See what the devil does. For since he saw him standing bravely through the first and second blow, and not at all shaken from his torments, warred against but not wounded, he contrives to do something of this sort: he casts fire from the air, so that the fire might seem to be sent down from heaven, and so that Job, thinking that God is warring against him from the heavens, might blaspheme God, who without any sin is warring against him unjustly. Fire, he says, fell from heaven and consumed your sheep and the shepherds. While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said to Job: The horsemen made three companies against us, and surrounded the camels and took them captive, and killed the servants with swords. But even in all these things the blessed Job remained, like an unshaken pillar, like an unshakable tower, like an invincible champion, unbending, unyielding, striking rather than being struck. For when someone labors to no avail, warring much and profiting nothing, fighting often and not prevailing at all, he himself is rather the one who receives the lashes for his vain labors. While he was still speaking, another messenger came.

The war is relentless, but futile for the one who struggles; the arrows are more numerous, but the prizes are more splendid. He does not allow him even an hour to breathe, lest by his innate piety the wrestler devise something clever. He sent all his arrows, and did not defeat the athlete; he emptied his own quiver, and was not emptied of his pain. Let those who transgress in vain be put to shame. Since that one too was turned back humiliated and ashamed, the one who wrestled much and was defeated in all things. For he sent against the shepherds, against the herds, against the sheep, against the camels, against the sons, against the daughters, against the house, against the body, through the friends, through the servants, through the worms, through the wounds, through the discharges. He emptied everything, and did not loosen his piety. He broke through the wall, and did not empty the treasure. As many swords as the tyrant of the world had, he moved them—through fire, through swords, through dust, through captivity, through blood. He stretched out everything, and made the athlete more courageous. Therefore indeed the prophet cried out, saying: The swords of the enemy have failed utterly. Perhaps he also says to him: It is hard for you to kick against the goads. He took all the goods, the possessions, the substance. And what of the last messenger? While your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking in the house of their elder brother, suddenly a spirit came from the wilderness, and touched the four corners of the house, and the house fell upon your children, and they died.

And so that you may learn, beloved, that it was not a man who was declaring these things to Job, but it was the devil himself, disguised in the form of a man, learn with all exactness: While your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking at the house of their elder brother, suddenly a spirit came from the wilderness, and it touched the four corners of the house, and the house fell upon your children, and they died. Tell me, how do you know that it came from the wilderness, and that it touched the four corners of the house? You are a man, and how did you see the spirit? With what eyes did you behold it? And how did the spirit touch the four corners? If you are a man and you were inside the house, then certainly the house encompassed you as well; but if you were outside, how did you see what was happening inside? But if you are a spirit, show who you are; do not fashion yourself into the form of a man. While your sons, it says, and your daughters were eating and drinking at the house of their elder brother. See how the blessed Job was filled with all understanding and wisdom, and how he safeguarded the friendship of his children. For he reasoned that Cain and Abel were two brothers, being the only ones in the inhabited world, having no occasion for war; for the whole earth lay open to both in common and at their disposal; and yet Cain, envying Abel because of the honor shown to him, rose up and murdered his brother. For this reason the blessed Job, concerning hidden matters, offered sacrifice to God each day, rising at dawn and saying: Perhaps my sons have conceived evil in their hearts against God.

But concerning what was happening among them, whether to conversation or to rivalry, he made them eat with one another each day, reflecting that even if they had some petty grievance against one another, the table and the disposition of the loaves would cause them to be transformed into friendship and to banish the malice that had fallen upon them, knowing that through the continuous table all the troubles that fell upon them were dissolved. But the devil, hater of good, watched for such a time to destroy the children who had done no wrong; at the time of midday, when all were gathered together, when those were joined together for peace, then he let loose the implacable war against them. They were building friendship, he was sharpening the sword; they were building love, and he was overturning the house. And it came to pass at that very hour that the house became a tomb, and the table a vessel of disaster, and the sheepfold a shipwreck, and all things were caught by wild beasts. What then did that noble man do? He was not confounded, he did not fall. What in him shall I praise? What sort of word will suffice? What sort of labor will suffice for such a narrative? O noble and blessed soul! O great endurance that has no excess! Truly, beloved, I am confounded in soul, I am disturbed in conscience, even as I see Job being crowned. But I am confounded in soul now more, seeing the crowned victor, than he was then seeing the calamity of his children before his eyes; I am confounded in soul; and I think that you too are so disposed. How then shall I utter such a tragedy, I do not know, even while carrying on my tongue the crowning point of the praises.

Parents according to the flesh, when they have a son held in the last breaths, sit around him, listen to his final words, clasp his hands, arrange instructions concerning unforeseen matters, kiss his mouth, the last kisses of fathers. Then the child has given up his soul, as the one who gave it commanded; the parents compose him, stretch out his hands, close his eyes, straighten his head, stretch out his feet, wash him, clothe him in the funerals he deserves, and console their own misfortune. But what is this compared to this noble athlete? He went into the house that was at one and the same time and the same hour both house and tomb, banquet and mound, festival and mourning. He kept digging around and searching for the limbs of his children, and he kept finding wine and blood, bread and a hand, an eye and dust. And he would take now a hand, now a foot, at another time he would pull up a head along with the earth, and the stones, and the wood; and sometimes a part of the belly, at another time the entrails of the intestines stirred up together with the earth. That heaven-high champion sat there, seeing the limbs of his children torn apart. He sat there putting limb to limb, hand to forearm, molding a head to a chest, knees to thighs. For the misfortune of what happened was not one, but from demonic activity and tyranny came the destruction that surpasses all account.

Job, then—the truly steadfast diamond, the blessed one—was sitting, distinguishing the limbs of his children, lest perhaps he fashion the limbs of the females against the limbs of the males, lest perhaps the male form be fitted together into the limbs of the female. O noble soul, surpassing the praise of angels! Why? Because in all these things that had befallen him Job sinned in no way before the Lord, but instead of all these things he offered whole thanksgiving instead of sacrifice to God, saying: May the name of the Lord be blessed, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. On the righteous and blessed Job, Discourse 2. 1. Great matters require great narratives, and the brilliant histories of the righteous require both a brilliant tongue and a brilliant mind—a mind that purely contemplates the divine Scriptures, and a tongue that clearly interprets divine things, and especially in the present subject, I mean the labors of the blessed Job, which, traveling through all the regions under heaven, flash forth the word of endurance. Yet even if the magnitude of the subject surpasses our weakness, I know well that the grace of God supplies the word, not because of the worthiness of the speaker, but because of the intercession of the Fathers. But let us come to the narrative itself: There was a certain man in the land of Ausitis. It is necessary first to consider what power the introduction has, and for what reason the historian made the introduction from this phrase, There was a certain man.

Since he was about to recount a life of virtue, and one that far surpassed our own condition, lest anyone, looking at the excess of his struggles, should think his nature was foreign and not human, he first set forth his nature beforehand, so that you might marvel at his resolve—that being a man he lived beyond man, sharing in the common nature with all, yet raising his soul higher than the world. There was a certain man in the land of Ausitis. He proclaims him both by nature and by land, so that just as, hearing that he was a man, you marvel that he lived beyond man, so too, if you learn the land from which such great fruit blossomed, you may truly marvel what kind of rose sprouted in the midst of thorns. Pay close attention. The land of Ausitis, then, was the land of Esau; for Ausitis is from Esau. He names the land of the profane and wicked Esau, as the Apostle says: Lest anyone be a fornicator or profane, like Esau—so that you may marvel from what schools of wickedness what kind of fruit of truth blossomed. But not only did the land of Esau bear him, but also the very root of Esau; for he was a descendant of the one who is maligned. For Scripture says that Job was the fifth from Abraham. And how he is fifth, hear: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Esau, Esau begot Raguel, Raguel begot Zara, and Zara begot Job. He had, then, the succession from Abraham coming down to him through Esau. He shows the root, then, so that you may marvel at the fruit. But who was Esau? A fornicator and profane. And who was Job?

The one descended from the prostitute—this very man, the revered and admirable man, the one now set before us for narration—is the one who says: "If my eye followed a woman belonging to another, then my wife also will please another man." Esau had relations with many women, being insatiable in licentiousness; but Job made his character a law for his life, and he kept so far from it that he did not even busy himself with others' beauties; and he was so far removed from fornication and adultery that he did not even pay attention to women not yet betrothed, that is, to unbetrothed virgins—for one must use the clearer expression—he was so far from plotting against others' marriages that not even upon an unbetrothed virgin, with whom there was no danger, did he stretch out his eye toward licentiousness. And who is the one testifying to these things? Job himself: "I made," he says, "a covenant with my eyes, and I did not understand upon a virgin." See to what point of discipline the things of his piety reached their prime. He disciplines the eye for piety, he disciplines the members also for righteousness, and, tracing his lineage from the prostitute, he shone forth with the greatest chastity. Esau was also a fratricide, as far as intention goes; for even if the deed did not come to pass, the intention is accused. For he said, it says, Esau in his heart: "Let the days of mourning for my father draw near, and I will do away with Jacob my brother." The root, then, is fratricidal; but he—

Flourishing from the root of righteousness, an arbiter of justice. That one warred against nature and considered his brother a stranger; this one even regarded strangers as brothers, saying: "I became as a father to the orphans, and instead of a husband to their mother. The cause that I did not know, I searched out, and I put an end to unjust deeds." And he appropriates all things belonging to others—the one who bears the succession from Esau, who set the things of others as his own. Esau planned in his mind to kill Jacob; but Job offered sacrifices on behalf of his sons, considering, "Lest they have sinned in their mind." For since that one meditated murder in his mind, this great and noble athlete, fearing lest these also in their mind receive the poison of sin, offered a sacrifice and one calf for sins. For Job said: "Lest my sons have thought evil against God?" Consider to what exactness the discipline of his character reached. And what does he do? Since Esau and Jacob, the forefathers, warred against each other—not Jacob agreeing to wickedness, but Esau beginning wickedness—he dissolves the discord of the forefathers by feasting, and makes his sons feast with one another day by day, so that the customary table might dissolve the poison of wickedness. The sons of Job went to one another, being trained in concord from a young age, practicing peace, being taught agreement, and they ate and drank with one another. And they took, he says, also the three sisters to eat and drink with them. And what is this for the benefit of the hearer? And why did he add the feasting together of the sisters?

So that it might be shown to what extent their banquet was conducted with self-control, and that there was no disorderly and unrestrained laughter, nor licentiousness insulting the table, for this reason he also brings in the maidens feasting, in order to show that the character of the banquet was not outraged by drunkenness but crowned with harmony. There was a certain man in the land of Ausitis: a dove in the midst of hawks, a sheep in the midst of wolves, a star in the midst of clouds, a lily in the midst of thorns, the shoot of righteousness in the village of unrighteousness. And that man was blameless. 2. Pay close attention: those outside set down a definition of man. What is man? Man, they say, is a rational, mortal animal. These are the definitions the philosophers wish for; but Scripture does not give such definitions. But what? A man blameless, righteous, true. If someone asks you and demands a definition, "What is man?" say to him: "Blameless, righteous, true, abstaining from every evil thing"—since whoever is not attested by such achievements is not even a man. For if he has the stamp of nature but outrages it by the wickedness of his choice, he hears from the prophet: "Man, being in honor, did not understand; he was compared to the senseless beasts, and was made like them." And that man was blameless. The praise is no small thing. Examine the word closely, so that you may marvel at the intent. An accusation is one thing, and a censure is another; for an accusation is brought against the gravest sins, while censure occurs for the lightest faults.

The author therefore wished to show that the righteous man was far not only from accusations but also from reproaches. No one accused him of having done great things, since indeed no one even reproached him for having done small things. And this is a great proof: a life that is in the middle, free from accusation. For the one about whom you have nothing to accuse regarding adultery or murder—such a man is free from accusation; but the one to whom you bring reproaches of insolence, slander, abuse, or drunkenness—such a man is outside accusations, but falls under reproach. He wished therefore to show that he was far even from small and the least of trespasses, and he says: He was blameless, righteous, true, God-fearing, abstaining from every evil deed. Hence God also, wishing to show Abraham that the first thing in virtue is the blameless, says to him: But you, be well-pleasing before me, and become blameless. The word "blameless" is understood as the utmost perfection of character. But the apostle Paul, since he had to do with the Gentiles, those drawn away from polytheism, those gathered out of wickedness, those assembled out of fornication and adultery, did not add the summit of virtue, but as he came into a world filled with fornication and adultery, he wished also to appoint shepherds of the world, since at that time the good things of virtue were scarce, appointing bishops, he says to Titus: Appoint bishops, as I commanded you, if anyone is free from accusation. The word "blameless" had no place then, since, as I said before, the things of piety were still scarce. Great is "blameless," but "free from accusation" is middling; and in evils even a small good is great. For this reason he said: the husband of one woman.

Not because this is now observed in the Church—for the priest must be crowned with complete chastity and holiness—but because at that time it was a great thing in relation to those living in fornication, he says: Appoint bishops, as I commanded you, if anyone is blameless, the husband of one wife; not because he established this as a law, but because he was indulgent toward their error. For he knew that when the word of piety flourished, nature itself would possess the good by free choice, and the selection would be of the better things. Blameless, righteous. Therefore one cannot first become righteous without having become blameless. True. What does "true" mean? The one who is not feigning his appearance while having another condition within; the one who does not put on a show of chastity while clothed in licentiousness; the one who does not display righteousness in his outward form while carrying injustice in his heart. This man is true, and immediately God-fearing. For when there is the blameless, when there is the righteous, when there is the true, then true godliness is made complete. Abstaining from every evil thing. Since many abstain from many sins but do not abstain from all, wishing again to set before us the summit of virtue, he says: Abstaining from every evil thing. Whence also David says: You who love the Lord, hate evil. For it is not possible both to be God-fearing and to do evil. He also sets forth his substance, that he had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred grazing donkeys. Why does he set these forth?

Not admiring Job's wealth, but leaving the abundance of his substance to you, the hearer, so that when you see him afterward stripped of his possessions and not groaning, you may marvel that, deprived of so many good things, he does not reject his benefactor. He does not insult the Creator. These things, then, were written, not so that you might admire the wealth, but so that you might praise the steadfastness and endurance of the righteous man, and always keep the fear of God before your eyes. But the sequence will store up the contemplation for another time. For the devil, brothers, since he saw him rich with this temporary wealth, and from this temporary wealth storing up eternal wealth, considered that just as righteousness grew rich together with him when he was rich, so also virtue would grow poor together with him when he was poor. He therefore tries to strip him of his money, so that he might strip him also of his advantages. But here let those who say, "Was not Job rich? Was not Abraham rich? Why then do you set before us poverty?" pay close attention. I too will say to you: Become rich as Job was, and I pray that you acquire more; become as Abraham was, and all the earth will join in praying for your wealth. Say also, like Job, "My door has been opened to everyone who is oppressed"; say, "I warmed the shoulders of the poor"; say, "From the fleece of my sheep the shoulders of the poor were warmed"; say, "And the mouth of the widow blessed me"; and be rich with whatever wealth you wish. For you will be found rich not for yourself, but administering to the poor. For my door, he says, has been opened to everyone who is oppressed. Imitate the extremity of this love of the poor.

Clothe yourself with the zeal of endurance; play the man against the adversaries; think equal thoughts. But of these things, to such an extent. May it be that we, having the zeal and endurance resounding in our ears, may also have the continuation of the remaining things, and that you may demand from us the remaining things, and that we may repay to you the continuation of the contemplations. And may it be that we genuinely complete the feast, and having shared in the sufferings of the saints, may we also share in the suffering of Christ. For truly, brothers, justly did the sufferings of the saints shine forth before the suffering of Christ. For the sufferings of the righteous shone forth like lightning, so that after these things Christ might appear, as Paul says, who suffers with all, and is glorified with all. By the prayers, then, and intercessions of the holy Fathers, and having conformed to what has been said, and having awaited the remaining things, let us send up glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen. On the righteous and blessed Job, Discourse 3. 1 Come, let us also take hold of the subject, and you of the hearing; and let us all become of the evening sequence of Job, and with faith let us present ourselves to the word of endurance. For it is absurd that Job, sitting on the dung-heap, did not grow numb toward piety, while we, dancing in the church, hesitate toward the truth; and that he, surrounded by countless wailings of his own misfortune, was not broken in soul, while we, sung around by hymns and spiritual odes and divine Scriptures, betray our eagerness through slackness.

Job, his body eaten away by worms, kept his soul unwounded for piety; worms did not conquer him—and will sweatings overthrow us? Let us too become human beings, human beings according to the definition already given. For what characterizes a human being is being blameless, just, true, God-fearing. And just as in common custom, when someone sends his own servant or his son to do some task, he exhorts him, saying, "Do this task as a human being," and makes the common name a peculiar marvel, so too, even if all are called human beings, that one alone is a true human being who preserves the image and does not obliterate the archetypal beauty. He called him a human being, so that from the common nature you might praise his purpose. He called him from the land of Ausitis, so that from the land teeming with impiety you might hymn his fruit. He spoke of his possessions, so that you might marvel at his advantages. He spoke of his wealth, not so that you might praise his abundance, but so that you might marvel at him stripped bare. For he was stripped of all things, and he did not strip off piety, but was like a city under siege, stripped of all things outside, guarded by its wall alone. He was stripped of children, and he did not lose the fruits of piety. For he had as children the ways of piety; he had as daughters the virtues. He had three daughters according to the flesh, and three virtues according to the spirit, as Paul says: But these three remain, faith, hope, love; but the greatest of these is love. He was stripped of all things, and he did not deny the Creator of nature.

For he knew that children are a consolation of succession, and God is the farmer of the root. He was not vexed at seeing the fruits cast away; for he knew that the farmer of the root endures forever. He was stripped of his sheep, and he himself was a sheep guarded by God; he was stripped of his oxen, and the yokes of oxen were taken away, but the yoke of soul and body was not cut apart; rather, flesh and soul, in harmony together, drew the plow toward piety. And in the manner of endurance he received the fruits of virtue, so that he might multiply the fruits of endurance. So he had three thousand camels, five hundred she-donkeys at pasture. I think that what he possessed was small. For if he supplied every poor man, as he himself says, "I was an eye to the blind, and a foot to the lame," his substance would have been small compared to his purpose; the provision of his hospitality was greater than the abundance of his income. Job was poor, not sufficient for his zeal; and he was rich in possession, but poor in the power of his purpose. And he had, it says, also great works upon the earth. And what were these? Love of the poor and love of strangers, extreme humility, unsurpassable almsgiving, and all things that contribute to virtue. But he, being such a one, exulted, not

...but rather in the wealth that is temporary, but in that of piety. Another wise man, taking the statement in a common sense, thinks that great works are vineyards and olive groves and acres of sown land, and all such things. Truly, however, he had great works upon the earth, since he was adorned with heavenly wealth. But the devil, as I said before in the earlier passage, the utterly polluted one, suspecting that just as when he was rich virtue grew rich together with him, so also when he became poor the things of virtue would grow poor with him, strips him of his possessions, in order that he might strip him also of the advantages of virtue, and he asks God for the trial against the righteous man, so that you may take courage, that a demon has no authority over a Christian, nor over a man who fears God, unless permission comes from above, either for discipline, or for forgiveness. For when God brings disciplines, he either exacts the penalty for sins, or trains virtue in divine achievements. The devil, therefore, was not able to make war against Job until he was permitted by God. And do not marvel, beloved, if he had no authority against Job, since he had not received permission. For he does not have authority even over swine. Hear how the Legion begged, saying: If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the swine. But if he has no authority over swine without being permitted, how does he have authority over those who are made in the image of God without being commanded? It came to pass, it says, on this day, that the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil stood in their midst.

Does the devil, then, stand present along with the angelic ministry, and does the unclean spirit stand present in the midst of the holy spirits? But neither did the holy angels stand before God bodily, nor did Satan stand bodily; rather, every service is called a standing before. For just as Elijah, living his life on earth, was said to stand before God, as he says: As the Lord lives, before whom I have stood today—not because he had gone up into the heavens and stood before him, but because he served at the divine command—so also the devil stood, not in the heavenly place, nor among the supramundane powers, but as a creature of God he is commanded to do what is required; and how, listen. For do not snatch my word away and say: Has God used the devil as a servant? Just as in human authorities there are visible soldiers, those who serve in honors, and there are acknowledged soldiers, those set apart for punishments; so also here, for good services and for the economies on behalf of men, holy angels are sent; but for punishments against lawless men, demons are sent; and how, listen: When Paul makes mention of the holy angels, he says: Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth for service for the sake of those who are about to inherit salvation? Hence it is clear that the holy angels serve the salvation of men, while the bitter demons serve the punishments against sinners. For he sent forth, says David, into Egypt wrath, and anger, and affliction, a sending by means of evil angels. 2.

The wicked and unclean demons, then, even if they have thrown off the yoke by their own choice, nevertheless lie under the yoke of slavery, and are commanded like executioners to carry out what is ordered. And do not be amazed if God gives commands to demons. The apostles employed the devil as an executioner. Paul says: Since some have failed regarding the faith, I have handed them over to Satan, so that they may be disciplined not to blaspheme. And again, concerning one who had committed sexual immorality and owed a penalty, what does the same Paul say? When you are gathered together and my spirit is present, with the power of the Lord Jesus I have judged the one who has done this thing, to hand this one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. For so that the demons may not suppose that they have tyrannized entirely against the divine authority, they are commanded, even against their will, to do what is ordered—not things that contribute to prosperity, but things that bring punishment. Did you not see also the rulers among us, when they summon someone with honor, how they send the

runners, called cursores in Latin; but when they drag certain persons away with dishonor, do they send out other fierce and harsh soldiers? So too God sends ministering angels to the saints for salvation; but when he wishes to punish, he entrusts it to the demons. For this reason, when God was pronouncing judgment against Ahab, he said: Who will go and deceive Ahab, that he may fall? And a wicked spirit answered: Behold, I am here. For he knew that the devil has been appointed to this. The demons, then (forgive me, I beg you; for I am speaking of things invisible and not perceptible; indeed, I would not even have undertaken from the beginning to say anything about such matters, unless I were borrowing my starting points from the Holy Scripture; for it is not within human understanding to separate things invisible from things perceptible; but since there is no contradicting what God has said, we follow what has been written, whether we wish to or not)—the most wicked demons, then, are sent specifically to exact punishment from the wicked; but they are also sent against the righteous, not to punish them, but to test them. For since a holy angel is not commanded to minister to testing (for God does not command anything unworthy of an angel), for this reason demons are entrusted with this testing. And do not marvel that demons are sent against the righteous; for once the Master of all things was led up from the Jordan into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. If, then, the devil tested the Lord and Savior of all things, why would you marvel if a demon is sent against a righteous man for a training-ground of endurance?

He is sent, not by God's command, but by his permission. Scripture shapes the account as if in personification. For no voice from God proceeds to an evil demon, nor is that transgressive purpose deemed worthy of it. For its nature is good, but its purpose is evil; it is not deemed worthy of the undefiled voice. But if you say, "The Lord said to the devil," I will tell you from David: "But to the sinner God said, Why do you recount my statutes?" Did he utter a voice to the sinner? No; but through the things he speaks, through those very things he speaks to the unworthy. God commanded the sea monster. Did he emit a voice, or energize some command? God commanded the early worm. So if the account shapes it as though God spoke to the devil, do not, as from equality, bring in that dishonored and transgressive purpose introduced into the person of the Master. But the angels stood in the appointed order; and the devil came and stood in the midst of the angels, so that you may learn that he received the nature of an angel, but displayed the purpose of a traitor. For "devil," brothers, is not a name of nature, but of choice. Why "devil"? For he did not become a devil from the beginning, but was created an angel; but he was named devil because he slanders both God to humans and humans to God, and because he clashes a master against a servant, and a servant against a master. For when the devil suggests to us and says, "How many evils are in the world? Where is God? Why does he not preside over it?" he slanders the Creator to us; for this has been the devil's work from the beginning.

He slanders God to Adam, saying, "God knew that on whatever day you eat from the tree, you will be like gods." He says, "God, in envy, prevented you from eating." There he slanders God to Adam; here he slanders Job to God: "Does Job fear God for nothing?" That is, he is a hireling, not virtuous; he pays you a wage for his prosperity; take away his possessions, and his resolve is stripped bare. Since, then, God saw the righteous man being insulted by that suspicion, he removes his possessions, in order to remove the suspicion and show his piety naked. And observe the purpose of the evil demon: The Lord, it says, said to the devil, "Where have you come from?" Then the proud and boastful one, knowing neither his own rank nor the worth of the one asking, says, "I have come from going around the earth and walking about under heaven"—all but shouting and wishing to show that he holds sway over what is under heaven, that all earthly things have been trampled by him, that he has all men under his feet. "I have come," he said, "from going around the earth and walking about under heaven." The devil's boastfulness is cut off. For since he thought he held sway over God's image, he is cast out of the earth, so as no longer to walk about; and the Master of all exiles him. For he is the one who promised, "I will dwell in them and walk about, and I will be their God." 3. At first the devil walked about. For when idolatry was poured out, when impiety prevailed, when all the things of wickedness were at their peak, the devil walked about.

But when holiness and righteousness and truth are with those who guard the truth, God dwells in them and walks among them. Take heed, then, with your mind, he says, against my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, blameless, righteous, true, abstaining from every evil? Since he said, "I have gone around all that is under heaven," and was boasting as though he ruled over all, the word of truth, undoing his boast, says to him: Did you see the man who was not trodden down by you, since you rule over all, as you said? Did you see the one who prevailed over all your wickedness? Did you see the one who trampled you who trample all? Did you see the one who loosened your tyranny, and loosened injustice by righteousness, and impiety by piety? But he resists God and says: "Does he worship for nothing?" He added his possessions, in order to insult his manner, in order to insult his character too, in order to show his virtue to be counterfeit by his suspicions. You have given him abundance, he says; take away the abundance, and the hypocrisy is laid bare. God says to him: Touch all that he has. For God knew that he has an insatiable disposition toward greed; and he says: Behold, I give you authority over all, but do not touch him only. By limits he confines the wickedness of the devil. See, then, what sort of bow he stretches against the righteous man, what sort of arrows he sends. He went out, and first the very worker of evils disguises himself, presenting himself as an angel of evils; he himself struck the cattle, and he himself announces the blow. For, he says, the devil said to Job:

Your yokes of oxen were plowing, and the female donkeys were grazing, and the plunderers came and slaughtered your servants, and I alone was left, and I came to report to you. This was the devil's first assault, the first arrow against the noble athlete. But Job raised the shield of faith, which is able to quench all the fiery arrows of the evil one. The yokes of oxen perished, and his soul was not divided. The donkeys perished, and the noble colt did not refuse the bridle of piety. He saw the bitter report of the loss of his possessions, and he remained like a secure and unconquerable tower. The devil, bitter in his wickedness and bitter in his purpose, regretted having reported in this way. And pay close attention, I beg you, lest the Evil One's intent escape you, which the Apostle also, having observed it closely, states: For we are not ignorant of his designs. So when he reported to him that the yokes of oxen were plowing, and the female donkeys were grazing, and the plunderers came, and he saw Job bearing the report with a noble soul, he regretted that he had reported badly, and the devil all but said to himself: I reported badly, saying to him that men made war on him; he can reason, if men made war and did me wrong, what has that to do with God? Badly, he says, did I shoot; I did not hit the mark; I missed the shot; the arrows went astray. I said that men took captive; this man can say: Why, then, shall I ascribe the injustice of men to God? Others are the wrongdoers, and another will be the one blasphemed?

So then, in order to turn his mind away from men to God, and to show him that it is not men who are doing the harm, but God who is making war, he says to him: Fire fell from heaven. Can you not say that enemies threw it down from above? Insult the one who wronged you, blaspheme the one who made war. Fire fell from heaven. Why do you serve the one who wronged you, why do you worship the one who is consuming your possessions? Fire fell from heaven. Job heard, and again he bore it nobly. For his endurance was truly endurance, extended to the end, about which the Savior says: But the one who endures to the end, this one will be saved. Fire fell from heaven. Every day he toiled offering sacrifices on behalf of his children; what he toiled to offer every day, God suddenly took for a sacrifice. Fire fell from heaven. If I alone were clothed, I would grieve justly; but if the poor were clothed, can the Master neglect the poor? I know that what he took for a sacrifice, he repays fivefold. For were my possessions gathered from injustice? For did I acquire my flocks from greed? From the shearing of my sheep the shoulders of the poor were warmed, and the mouth of the widow blessed me. God knows what he is doing. Now he has taken my substance as a sacrifice; but he multiplies my property for an abundance of virtue. The arrows from outside do not shake me, since I am fortified by what is within; rather, the arrows of God strengthen me from within. For the arrows of the mighty are sharpened; about which David said: Your arrows have sunk into me. The arrows—what sort? An arrow of piety, an arrow of righteousness, an arrow of longing for God, an arrow of zeal for virtue.

By these divine arrows the soul is wounded. So then, after the devil had brought every trial to bear and had stripped him of his possessions but had not stripped him of his virtue, he proceeds next against his nature, and he does violence to the cultivation of his nature, and tears the branches from the root, and smashes the children of the noble contestant; he takes away the fruit, in order to grieve the one who begot them. And what does he do? Observe also the report of the Evil One, how full it is of irony, and inclining to bewitchment, and able to break down the soul of the brave man. He says to him, then: While your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking in the house of your elder son, a great wind came from the desert, and it shook the house, and it fell upon your children, and they died. The word is also a diminutive, able to stir up mourning. He did not say, Upon your children, but, Upon your little children, so that, hearing "little children," he might come to lamentation, so that he might be bent toward compassion. A great wind came from the desert. Again he slanders the Judge; for a wind does not obey men, but God. It fell upon your little children, and they died. Then Job arose; for so it is written. The "he arose" is good; for he did not fall down under the blow, but arose by the power of piety. He arose, and worshipped. The worship was the wage of his calamities. Being struck, he blessed; being battered by calamities, he gave thanks. And he sheared off his hair. Now among us who mourn, many cultivate their hair, but he sheared it off. Why? For the mourner, the thing earnestly sought is to turn his condition into the opposite appearance.

Where hair is held in honor, then, not cutting it is a sign of mourning. For everywhere those in mourning seek the opposite appearance. And he tore his garments: by his appearance withdrawing toward his suffering, but by his action stripping for virtue. He strips off his garment so that, like a naked athlete, he may grapple with his opponent and by an uncontested wrestling match win the prize of righteousness. The one clothed in righteousness stripped off his garment; and the great champion of piety says: The Lord gave, the Lord took away; as it seemed good to the Lord, so it came to be; may the name of the Lord be blessed forever. O noble soul! This utterance became a dart against the devil; this utterance sent forth arrows against the demons; it broke the battle-line of the enemies. Naked I came out from my mother's womb, and naked I shall depart. This utterance, playing the man before the times of the apostles, is apostolic: Naked I came out from my mother's womb, and naked I shall depart; as the Apostle says: We brought nothing into the world; clearly, neither can we carry anything out. The Lord gave, the Lord took away. Fourth. He was deprived of all things, to put it briefly, and only his wife was left, the ancient instrument of the devil. The

A woman was left, not because the devil spared her, but because he kept the weapon for himself. For since he knew that through a woman he had conquered the first man, he guards the woman, so that he might use the same weapon for his plot. But there he found Adam, here he does not find the Adam. There he found Adam and Eve; here he found Eve, but he did not find Adam. His wife says to him: How long will you endure? The words are truly the devil's. For the "How long" was the voice of one being tormented. I am being tormented, and you say, "How long?" I am being struck, and are you numb before the blows of the one being tormented? How long will you sit waiting for salvation day after day? Unwillingly the devil praises the virtue of the righteous man, proclaims his endurance, that he struggled in hope. How long? Then observe the wisdom of the writer. And having looked at her, it says, Job said. He did not say, having attended to her, but, having looked at her. Having looked at her, why? For did he not know his own wife? Did he not live with her? Did he not beget children from her? Why then did he look at her? "Having looked at her" shows that he does not see her, but the one in her. Job looked at the devil; he saw the one who spoke in the serpent, and now speaking in the woman. And he says: You have spoken as one of the foolish women. Why did he not say, As one of the impious? As one of the godless? He knew that she was not godless, but had been carried away by folly. Otherwise, brothers, properly the word "foolish" is given to the one who denies God. For it says, The fool said in his heart: There is no God. As one of the foolish women: as if someone were to say: You have spoken as Eve did.

If we have received good things from the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure evil things? O noble soul! Here, examine his soul for me. Job did not know that he was contending for virtue; he did not know that he was being crowned for endurance; but he supposed simply that it was a calamity sent by God. He considered them evils, and considering them evils, he did not blaspheme as one who was suffering for evils. But if, considering them evils, he contended thus, had he known the crown, would he not have contended much more? But why did God not say to him beforehand, "See what you are doing? The devil is about to array himself against you, is about to arm himself against you; contend, be strong, lest he turn aside your mind, lest he plunder your thoughts, lest he besiege your soul; be strong, and do not suppose that it is unseemly for God to announce the contest to the athlete." For the Lord says to Peter: "Peter, behold, Satan has demanded to have you, to sift you like wheat." He foretells temptations to the apostles; but to Job he does not foretell the temptations, nor the contest. Is there injustice with God? By no means. Some he encourages beforehand, others he leaves alone. Why does he not speak to him as to the apostles? God knew the devil's malice, he knew his envy, he knew the suspicion that is able to blunt virtue. If God had said to him, "Take heed to yourself, and contend; if you endure to the end, I will restore your possessions to you twofold, you will inherit the kingdom of heaven, you will receive crowns of immortality, the whole world will be filled with your eulogies and your praises"—if he had said these things, the righteous man would indeed have contended; but the devil would again have taken occasion.

And if he had contended thus and conquered, he would have said to God: "Did he not contend for nothing?" You promised him immortality, you promised a kingdom, you promised crowns. If, then, having received the enjoyment of things temporary, he was suspected not as righteous but as a hireling—if he received the promise of eternal things, would not the devil have taken much greater occasion? But He hides the crowns, in order to expose the contests; He hides the prize, in order to display the athlete. Why then, he says, did He not hide it also from the apostles? For if for this reason He did not tell Job, why did He not in the same way also keep silent about the contest in the case of the apostles? Job contended alone, he labored for himself, he contended for himself; but the apostles were heralds of the earth and teachers of the inhabited world. From them, then, He could hide it, but the matter would have become a loss to the world. Paul could have contended without the promise of crowns; Peter could have played the man without a promise; the apostles could have contended for virtue without having received a promise of good things. But Paul is not everywhere, Peter is not everywhere; the souls of many are weak, the minds of many falter. For if today, with a kingdom being proclaimed, with the enjoyment of good things to come, with angelic fellowship, with the delight of paradise, many despise the things promised, clinging to the things present—if it had been entirely kept silent, who would have run to piety? Reasonably, then, brothers, He does not show Job the things to come, in order to display his purpose as more steadfast.

But to the apostles he promises the things to come, in order to stir up the souls of the hearers, in order to strengthen the mind of the inhabited world. Many now hear about the kingdom, and yet despise it; many await Christ, and yet clothe themselves in wickedness; many do not withdraw from vice; many today honor the fasts, and say: "Today I say nothing to my adversary; let the day of Christ's passion pass, and I will pursue my lawsuit, I will avenge the insult, I will do many things." You are therefore a brother of Esau, thinking these things; you say the same things that Esau said. For Esau wished to kill his brother, but he stood in awe of his father. And what did he say? "Let the days of mourning for my father draw near, and then I will kill my brother"; let my father's death pass, and then I will do away with him. And what do you say? "Let the passion of Christ pass, and then I will make war against my enemy." See that you are not a brother of Esau. Hear what Paul says: "Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau," lest through him many be defiled. These things have been said by me, not to provoke, but for the support and salvation of the brethren. May it come to pass that we, being instructed by word and trained by histories, succeeding through the contests of the holy Fathers and prophets, always send up glory to God, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. On the righteous and blessed Job, Discourse 4. 1. Everywhere, and in the case of all, so to speak, of the divine narratives, the words are inferior to the deeds, and the expressions weaker than the subjects; but especially in the case of the achievements of the blessed Job.

No one has ever been able to match the speech of his own lowliness to the subject at hand. For even if countless things are said about it, the account falls short of the power that befits it. Since, then, we have spoken moderately according to our ability, nothing prevents us today from touching again on the same narratives. And let no one think the subject is being insulted if we cut the narrative into pieces. For Job does not feel pain when cut; for if he did not feel pain when his body was cut, will he feel pain when his narrative is cut? We have learned from the narratives spoken before that he lost everything—or rather, found everything. For having lost all his bright blessings, he did not lose the root of his brightness. He lost the lyre, but the craftsman remained; he lost the fruits of prosperity, but the farmer of good fortune remained; he was stripped of all his possessions, and was not stripped of virtue. He threw his possessions to the devil, casting off his livelihood, as Joseph cast off his garment to the shameless woman. In suffering he was not suffering. For it is necessary both to acknowledge the suffering of nature and to hymn the courage of the soul. The marks of nature were shown, and the advantages of virtue were shown. He heard of the disaster of his children and tore his garments, so that he might show the sympathy of nature. For if he had not suffered, he would not have been admired as a lover of virtue, but would have been condemned as insensible. But he suffered as a man, and he endured as a lover of God; and he refuted the weakness of nature, and did not betray the manner of his piety. He tore his garments, but he worshipped. The devil, then, did not strike him as much as he was struck; he did not wound him as much as he was wounded.

But God hands Job over again to another contest, since he had contended well in the first, so that he might weave for him a brighter crown of endurance. For again, a second time, the angels present themselves, and the devil is questioned in their midst by the one who knows all things: “Where do you come from?” See the wisdom of God; see the cunning of the devil. God knew where he had come from—that he had come defeated by the righteous man—but God wishes to see whether he will acknowledge his defeat honestly. “Where have you come from?” The devil, hiding his defeat—for he was ashamed—uses the same words as the first time: “I have gone around the earth and walked about under heaven, and here I am.” Was it for this that you came out? Was it for this that you asked? Did you not say, “Give me the possessions of Job”? Why do you hide the contest, so as to make away with the crown of victory? Tell of the contest, accursed one; tell also of the wrestling, so that you may proclaim the victory. But what the devil hid out of envy, the Master of all things extols through his virtuous philosophy: “Have you considered in your mind against my servant?” What you hide, I know. For God often asks, not to learn, but to expose the disposition of those being questioned—whether they confess honestly. Thus he asked Cain: “Where is Abel your brother?” He wished that the one who had done the evil should at least stand as his own accuser, so that his self-accusation might blunt the magnitude of the crime. For everyone who accuses himself softens the judge’s indignation. Just as, then, he asked Cain at that time: “Where is Abel your brother?” And he, thinking the question came from ignorance, says, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?

And when he had tested his resolve, then he exposed the impiety, saying: The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the earth. So too, if after questioning he sees someone being stubborn, he exposes him as a wrongdoer. And now, since when questioning the devil he does not learn from him the defeat which he suffered, he himself pillories his defeat and extols the victory of the righteous man. Give heed in your mind to my servant Job, that there is none like him, blameless on the earth? Here pay close attention, I beg you, and do not pass over the words of the divine Scriptures. In the first testimony the word "blameless" was nowhere said, but in the second. In the first, God said: Give heed in your mind to my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a man blameless, just, true, abstaining from every evil thing? The word "blameless" he did not add there; but after the victory and the contest he adds to him, as it were a crown, the commendation that sings in harmony with his struggles. For since, suffering countless things, he bore the calamity blamelessly, not blaspheming against the Master, but judging all things by his goodness, and having said: If we received good things from the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure the evil things? — since the word was one of blamelessness, he weaves for him the crown of blamelessness, saying: There is none among those like him, a man blameless. But why did you say that his possessions should be destroyed for nothing? — that is, "Did I begrudge his abundance in vain?" You said that the man was pious for the sake of his money; he was stripped of his possessions, and he was not stripped of the truth. You, then, devil, said that his possessions should be destroyed for nothing.

Evil does not lack its own wickedness. Again it finds another suspicion capable of quenching the courage of the virtuous man. So it says to God: Skin for skin, and all that a man has he will give for his soul. It is no great thing, it says, if he has lost his possessions; he gladly despised all things in order to save himself. But if you wish to test him, touch his flesh; surely he will bless you to your face. The word "bless" stands for "curse." For Scripture has covered the blasphemy with euphemism. 2. And why have these things been written? So that you, the faithful one, when you recount the shameful deeds of others' evils, may cover them with the dignity of your words. Do not pride yourself when doing shameful things, but pride yourself when you have escaped association with shameful things. For this reason the Apostle says: Let no shameful word proceed from your mouth. Then God hands the athlete over to a second trial, not learning from the trial what sort of man the athlete was, but putting the devil to shame through the trial. For God knows all things before all things. And the devil went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck the

Job is afflicted with a grievous sore from foot to head. He made his whole body one wound, one bruise. For it was necessary that he be crowned as a champion whole through and through. From foot to head the wound that saves, the sore that brings victory—a sore flowing with ichor as it appears, but as understood, full of praises. The ichors of the sore came about in a few moments, but the praises which his contest brought forth are not exhausted for all eternity. He struck him with a grievous sore from foot to head, so that he might be shown forth wholly through all his limbs as a victor crowned. Then, since no place within the walls received him who had been so sorely afflicted in body, but the whole house thrust him out as a leper (for the wound of Job was nothing other than leprosy), the stranger to the world went outside the city; he went outside the city and sat upon a dung-heap; he went outside the city, having a contest not of this world but transcending the present condition. For to be outside the city and the wall was an image of the cross of Christ. Therefore Paul says: For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places are burned outside the camp. Therefore also Jesus, in order to sanctify the people, suffered outside the gate. Christ outside the gate; Job sat outside the city upon a dung-heap; the seed of piety, the seed of endurance, being manured upon afflictions, sat upon a dung-heap, awaiting the one who raises the poor from the earth and lifts the needy from the dung-heap. He saw, brothers, the body wasting away, but the soul firmly fixed.

He saw his body bearing worms, but his soul bringing forth piety; he saw the earthly vessel being corrupted, and he remembered before Paul the words of Paul; for it was fitting for him to say: As much as our outer man is being corrupted, so much is our inner man being renewed day by day. He took a potsherd to scrape off the ichor, scraping off the ichor with the potsherd, and by his endurance weakening the adversary. It was fitting for him also, as he held the potsherd, to say: But we have this treasure in an earthen vessel. He sat on a dung heap—he who raised many from the dung heap; he took a potsherd to scrape off the ichor; with dead clay he scraped the living clay. The three friends came; for calamities summon friends for consolation; Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad came, three kings to one king. For he was a king before this, who said: And I was among them as a king among his bodyguard. And they sat, it says, before Job seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke. For moderate calamities receive consolation; but the greatness of calamities is honored with silence. For there is a time, brothers, when suffering defeats consolation; and just as diseases at their peak dismiss every remedy, so too sufferings at the peak of calamities cast out every admonition. They were silent, sharing in the suffering through their silence. And what does he do? Since the calamity had conquered them, and no one dared to utter a voice of consolation, he first begins the words. Job—the sufferer opens a door for those who do not suffer.

For we know, brothers, that in calamities, or in griefs, or in any other circumstance of despondency, each person is ashamed to be the first to raise his voice, lest he seem to be an untimely introducer of virtue or of opinion; but if he sees another has begun, he follows without danger. This, brothers, both experience teaches and the facts suggest. So when he saw that his suffering had shut out the consolation of his friends, the sufferer opens a door and begins at once to bewail his calamity in tragic tones, everywhere avoiding the suspicion of blasphemy. The first utterance of Job: Cursed be the day on which I was born, and may that night be darkness. He says these things not as an impious man, but as one suffering. And see what he does: just as when someone gripped by a terrible abscess is cut with steel by the physician, and having no way to resist the one cutting, he lays hold of those standing around and bites those present, having nothing to charge against them, but not being strong enough to stretch out his hand against the physician—so too Job, fearing the

the magnitude, he outrages inanimate things, and fills up the full assurance of his passion, not daring against God, but accusing himself and his day; for he curses, not the creation, but his own day. For I have authority, he says, over my own day; I do not curse the creation, I curse my own day. Cursed be the day on which I was born, and may that night be darkness. Jeremiah also says these things: Woe to me, O mother, as what sort of man did you bear me, one judged and brought to trial? Cursed be the day on which I was born. But the saints dramatize all these things so that you may learn after this, that they did not pass through life in luxury, but having endured countless evils, they completed their contests. Jeremiah therefore also wept, saying: Woe to me, O mother, as what sort of man did you bear me? And he suffered as a man, but he endured as one who loves God. Moses likewise, the great and divine lawgiver of God, who received the sacred tablets, the first introducer of the things profitable for life, he too says to God, weighed down by the multitude of calamities: Lord, you said, that You have found favor with me, and I know you beyond all others; and if I have found favor before you, take my soul from me; for I cannot bear the burden of this people. A little while, and they will stone me. Did I conceive them? Did I give them birth, that you say to me: Carry them as a nurse carries the child? I cannot bear the failings of the people. Nevertheless, both lamenting and mourning as a man, he did not blaspheme as an atheist, but he showed the passions of nature, being convicted by the passions themselves.

But in the same way each of the prophets also laments, and Habakkuk says: Why have you shown me labors and toils, to look upon the miseries of men? For the prophetic choir saw the injustice and could not bear it, but Habakkuk cried out, saying: Why have you shown me labors and toils? Judgment has come before me, and the judge takes, and for this reason the judgment goes out perverted. The ruler asks, and the judge takes, and the law is despised. 3. Thus all the righteous suffered, and were vexed at the hardship of the world. But do not take these things and interpret them as agreement with your own disposition; do not say: Am I not better than Jeremiah, who cried out against the world? Do not let the words of healing become wounds to you. But these things have been written so that you may learn how great a contest they strove through, through how many dangers full of peril they passed their life. Do you wish to learn what sort of person you ought to be? Learn the things after grace: the prophets suffered, and the apostles also suffered; but the former, when suffering, were in pain, while the latter, when suffering, boasted. Paul came into the midst, suffering but not weeping; being struck but not lamenting; being tormented but boasting. And what does he say? Not only this, but we also boast in afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces proof, and proof produces hope, and hope does not put to shame. And again, when the apostles had been beaten, They went rejoicing from the presence of the council, because they had been counted worthy to be dishonored for the name of Christ. Do not, therefore, take the things before grace as a pattern for grace.

For these things have been said to us so that you may learn hope from toils. Thus Job too curses the day, and suffers in his soul, yet does not torture his soul with impiety, but endures his wounds, and does not wound his soul with blasphemy. Then, since it is necessary to cut the matter short, we shall briefly summarize the argument for you: In the contest that concerns Job, all except God were ignorant of the purpose of the contest. Job did not know for what he was contending, he did not know that the wrestling matches had been set before him for his training. His friends were ignorant of God's purpose, the devil was ignorant of what was to come. For if he had known that he was being defeated, he would not have attempted it. Job did not know the outcome of the contest. That God had handed him over by permission, Job knew—not foreknowing it, but having learned it from God. But the devil did not know to what end the wrestling matches would arrive. For if he had known, he would not have attempted it, so as not to draw upon himself a worse shame; but what he suffered in the case of the martyrs, this

This happened also in the case of Job. He removed the martyrs in order to extinguish the Church, not knowing that after the martyrs the Church would flourish. All were therefore ignorant, except God. His friends, ignorant of God's purpose and ignorant also of Job's trial, chose—as if by comparison of ignorance—rather to condemn Job as suffering deservedly than to condemn God as having judged unworthily. Pay close attention: they chose to condemn a man as suffering things worthy of his own sin, rather than to speak against God, saying that he judged unworthily. And in one respect they were on target, declaring God to be outside injustice; but in one respect they missed the mark, condemning the innocent man. Yet ignorance makes defense on behalf of the ignorant, and they are acceptable, because they philosophize in ignorance and do not pass sentence against him, seeing God's righteousness. Job's righteousness they set aside, but God's they hymn. Then Job begins to be refuted by his friends; and they say to him: When have true roots perished? When have you seen the righteous utterly destroyed? If you had not sinned, he says, and done things worthy of sin, the righteous one would not have wronged you unjustly. Many are your sins. But if you did not sin, where does this come from, unless your sons sinned? Often you have wronged a widow, oppressed orphans. But if these things happened, God also justly brought this verdict. Job was conscious in himself that he had done nothing of the kind, and he was conscious also that God does not judge unjustly.

Since, then, Job saw that he was condemned by men, but his conscience did not condemn him, and his God did not hold him guilty—since he could not persuade men, he transfers his argument to the Judge and turns the eye of his soul upward, not blaspheming but pleading, and says to him: "You who know the mind of men, why have you set me as a accuser of yourself? You have made me to plead against your righteousness; you know my heart." Then Job utters something great, not from malice but from guilelessness; and, to sum up many things in few (for the material of his defense is abundant), he says: "Who will give a judge between me and you, that he may know how many my sins are, that you have judged me thus?" The saying is fearful, but it comes from guilelessness. For God had said beforehand, "There is none guileless like him"; and no one reckons the saying of the guileless man as wickedness. For always, brothers, all of us men—let alone God—judge not by the deeds but by the intention of those who act. A son insults his father; the deed is unbearable both to the one who suffers it and to the one who hears it; and such a man is called a parricide and a matricide, impious and lawless, because he uttered a word against his father, because he dared to speak ill of his own root. But these things are suffered and condemned by him who stands among perfect reasonings; whereas a guileless little child, even if he strikes his father or his mother, or even insults them, is more desirable than all gladness. Often mothers provoke their children, bearing with their insults, rejoicing not in the insult but in the guilelessness and the unspoiled and simple character.

Thus God also, knowing that he speaks not from wickedness but from guilelessness (for he bears witness to him, saying, "He still holds fast to guilelessness"), accepts what comes from Job, being called by him to judgment. Fearful is the word—for a servant to call his Master to judgment; a man, God; the creature, the Creator; the clay, the one who fashioned it. But nevertheless, as I said before, the word is of guilelessness, not of wickedness. Yet, brothers, his guilelessness was not devoid of understanding, but was within all wisdom. For do you wish to learn more precisely? Job asked for nothing that he did not do. He knew himself to be a servant of God; he knew God to be his Master. But since God himself, being often judged by his own servants, granted them the honor of equal speech, and whenever a servant was tried before him, he did not silence him as a servant, but received his plea—what he did, he asked for—being persuaded by the word, "With the measure you measure, it will be measured to you." And he says, "Who will give a judge?" And when did you preserve equal speech for a servant? Hear him when he recounts his virtues, and

This was not from vainglory but from guilelessness, when he said: "I did not reject the judgment of my male servant and my female servant, when they were judged before me. I will give an answer to God. Was I not also formed as he was?" Thinking these things, he granted the common right of equal speech to the common nature. 4. But we, brothers, are not like this. Do you marvel at the righteous man? Condemn yourself. Because often, if someone brings a charge—I do not say against a slave, but against one slightly below him—if he answers with what is just, he silences him as though he were shameless and daring to speak from equality of honor. "At all," he says, "do you even dare to speak from equality of honor? Do you demand what is just? Accept the just equality of speech." The proud man brings a charge, and he neither accepts a just defense nor is shamed by silence. If the accused is silent, he has been condemned, he says; he does not know how to open his lips. If he speaks, he has dared, he says, to break forth with a voice against his master. Then another, full of arrogance, if he is persuaded on behalf of a just man, on behalf of a noble man, being urged to make a reckoning with the other and to come together into peace and to put an end to wickedness by love, immediately, carried away by arrogance, says: "Am I to descend to this man?" O the arrogance! For where do you stand, that you should descend? "Am I to descend to this man?" As though treading on heaven and the clouds, so he speaks. You tread the same earth, you are nourished from the same, you return to it, you are buried in it; and where do you descend? Are you not ashamed, are you not put to shame by the passion of the Lord? Are you not ashamed, saying to one of equal honor: "Am I to descend to this?" Are you not ashamed to say these things, considering that Jesus descended for your sake?

Toward such thoughts and such arrogance it is fitting always to cry out with Isaiah: "Why is earth and ashes proud?" Nevertheless, let us return to the matter at hand: "Who will give a judge between me and you?" At the end the righteous judge appears, and he appears to him from tempest and clouds. Job appears from the clouds, he who is about to pour out the shower of blessing. He appears to him from the clouds, he who is about to water the seed that is manured, and he rouses Job, and he only nods, and scatters the passions; he only nods, and raises up the fallen one; and he says to him: "Arise, and gird your loins like a man. I will question you, and you answer me." Since you called me to judgment, and said, "Who will give a judge between me and you?" arise, noble champion, who did not fall by the blow of misfortune, arise. For if anyone, having been disciplined, bears misfortune and discipline nobly, he hears from God the words, "Arise"; as when he says to Jerusalem: "Arise, Jerusalem, you who have drunk the cup of my wrath." Gird your loins like a man. I will question you, and you answer me. He did not say, "I will judge you, and you answer me." For you did not call me, he says, to judgment, but you called me to be compared with you. You asked for a judge between me and you; you be the judge. Do you think I have dealt with you otherwise than that you might appear righteous? Do you suppose, he says, that I brought this misfortune upon you for any other reason than that I might show you to be righteous? And see, paying attention to the precision of such words. He did not say: "Do you think I have dealt with you otherwise than that you might become righteous?

For the calamity did not make him just, but it made him known as just. Do you think I dealt with you otherwise than that you might be shown to be just? For to me, he says, you were known even before the contests; but to the world you are made known through the calamity, to the world you are proclaimed through the struggle. For this reason I dealt with you, not to harm you, but to crown you; not to put you to shame, but to make you shine. Nevertheless, since through your guilelessness you went beyond the measures of nature, I forgave your integrity. For even if someone sins from guilelessness, God corrects what comes from guilelessness. Since you have wholly called God to judgment, tell me, having what equality of honor with me did you call me? Where were you when I founded the earth? Did you become contemporary with the Creator, so as to call him to judgment? He is before the ages, but you after many ages. When I was forming the earth, you were not present; when the sea, you were not present; or whatever such things, you were not present. All creation came to be, and you were nowhere present. Have you then called to judgment the one older than the ages, the founder of creation? When I stretched the cord upon the earth, when I established its pillars, when I brought it forth from its mother's womb, when the sea was being brought forth, where were you? When I covered it with cloud, and wrapped it in mist, where were you? He reproaches him as having spoken unworthily, from guilelessness indeed, but from ignorance. And what does he do? He does not convict him on all points, but as a friend he corrects him privately.

So when he had said these things and others like them (for it is not the time to interpret every phrase in detail), Job also, having become aware of himself (for the righteous man corrects his error from the first reproof), says: Lord, I heard of you before by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye has seen you, and I have despised myself; and I have regarded myself as earth and ashes. And, I have spoken once, but I will not add a second time. See how the one who received the rebuke well recalls his error. I have spoken once, and this from guilelessness, not from wickedness; but I will not add a second time. For who am I, being judged before the Lord? What Job did not know beforehand because of his guilelessness, he learns after the reproof. Then what does God say? He does not allow him to decline the judgment, but says: No, but gird your loins like a man. Stand, he says, like a man. Do not think that I struck you with power for this reason, fleeing justice, but I corrected your guilelessness. However, I do not decline the judgment: judge me justly, and demand an account of what has happened. You were judged so that you might be crowned; you were judged so that you might be admired in all the world under heaven. Before your suffering, one corner knew you; after your suffering, all the world under heaven will know you. Your dung heap becomes brighter than any royal diadem. Those who wear the diadem long to see both your contest and the toil of your struggles. I made your dung heap a paradise, I cultivated it for piety, I brought forth a heavenly plant. You have received heavenly things; receive earthly things too; receive all things twofold.

Learn here, every Christian, your hope, the superiority of your promise. For to Job he promises double, and gives double; but the Savior says to his own disciples: Whoever has left father, or mother, or sisters for my sake will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. But pay close attention to this, how he corrects the friend privately, but reproves Job's friends with boldness. And God says to them: Why did you not speak rightly against my servant Job? But, O righteous judge, we set forth the account on your behalf, we proclaimed your righteousness, we condemned a man, and we showed your righteousness to be blameless. Here then pay attention to the righteous judgment of God. For if he does not accept the one who speaks on his behalf against the righteous man, will he accept those who speak against the righteous man contrary to what is right? He reproves his friends, then, and says: And now, if not for my servant Job, I would have destroyed you. So at once he both reproves and saves. He saves them because they said nothing evil against God; but he reproves the righteous man, correcting his integrity; and he honors the friends because of him; and he honors the righteous man because of his struggle, and gives him double, and from his darkness light shone both then and now. And having said one more thing, let us show the superiority. He received sheep to the double, oxen, camels, donkeys to the double; but having lost ten children, he did not receive twenty. Here it must be asked how the livestock were to the double, but the children to the single.

Since the cattle and possessions, when destroyed, perished completely, but man, when he dies, is preserved for life and is raised for resurrection. He does not give him his children doubled, so that he might not cut off the hope of those who have departed, but so that he might show him that those also, even if they were snatched away beforehand, are alive. And all those are supplied to him; but he does not give him more than ten, so that Job may be found not passing from life to death, but from house to house. For ten, when he had completed his life, escorted him to the tomb; ten again on the day of resurrection will receive him from the tomb into the kingdom, and they will enjoy those ineffable and eternal goods with one accord; of which may we all be deemed worthy, by the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the might, now and always, and unto the ages. Amen.