Literal Commentary on Job (Expositio super Iob ad litteram)

"Silver has the beginnings of its veins," etc. Above, Job had shown how fragile and transient is the portion of the wicked which they receive from God; but now he intends to show, on the contrary, the dignity of the spiritual good which just men receive from God even in this world, which spiritual good indeed he comprehends under wisdom; and therefore he intends to set wisdom before all corporeal things both as to origin and as to preciousness. And he begins first to show that all things which seem precious among corporeal things have their origin in certain places, and he begins with metals which are held precious among men. Now it must be considered that metals are generated from moist vapors released from the earth by the power of the sun and the other stars and retained in the earth — whence metals are also ductile and fusible — just as, on the contrary, stones and other such things which are neither malleable nor meltable are generated from a dry exhalation retained beneath the earth. Now the species of metals are differentiated according to the greater or lesser purity of the vapor released and according to the difference of the digesting heat, among which gold appears the purest, and after this silver, and beneath this bronze, and lowest of all iron; and according to greater or lesser purity, metals for the most part have different origins: because therefore gold is the purest, it is found for the most part generated in its purity among the sands of rivers on account of the abundance of evaporation and the heat of the sand; silver, however, is found for the most part in certain veins either of earth or even of stones; bronze, however, is found as incorporated in stones; iron, however, as it were in feculent earth not yet having complete digestion, so that it has arrived at the generation of stone. Enumerating therefore the different places of metals he says "Silver has the beginnings of its veins," namely in certain determined places, from which such vapors are released as are apt for the generation of silver: and thus, while the aforesaid vapors are mixed with earth or stone, silver veins are made there. As for gold, however, he adds "and gold has a place in which it is smelted," because namely from many sands certain grains of gold are collected which are melted into one, which indeed does not happen in every place but in some determined place in which the due proportion of active power to matter proportioned to such a species concurs. Then as to iron he adds "iron is taken from the earth," because namely it is found in earth as it were undigested. Then as to bronze he says "and the stone" — namely to which a vapor proportioned to its nature is mixed — "melted by heat" — namely of a vehement fire — "is turned into bronze," namely while that which is there of the nature of bronze is liquefied by the heat of the fire.

Then he goes on about other things which have a determined time and place from divine disposition, whence most of these things, which are hidden from men, are subject to divine knowledge. Now the sun also, and many other things, are hidden from us by the darkness of night, but this happens by divine disposition, whence he says "he has set a time for darkness"; certain things are also hidden from us by their corruption, while they are dissolved into their principles, which are known to God but hidden to us, whence he adds "and he himself considers the end of all things," that is, the terminus of the dissolution of things. Certain things are also found hidden from men on account of an impassable place, as sometimes there are certain inaccessible mountains in which there are certain things unseen by men, and as to this he adds "the stone also of darkness," that is, some crag of some high mountain which is almost always covered with the darkness of clouds, "and the shadow of death," that is, some shadowy place among the valleys of mountains to which the vital heat of the sun never reaches; "the torrent divides it from the wayfaring people": for at the roots of certain mountains impassable torrents are wont to flow down, so that on one side of the torrent there is a way by which pilgrims pass, and to the other side of the bank there is no open access. Now it happens sometimes that in such inaccessible places a few rare men dwell, to whom even the poor, who go about everywhere, do not presume to approach on account of the difficulty of access, whence he adds that "the torrent divides from the wayfaring people" those men whom, dwelling in inaccessible places, "the foot of the needy man has forgotten," namely so that it does not approach them, "and [ways] impassable," that is, because the way to them is not open. There are also certain places rendered inaccessible not on account of their situation but on account of certain accidents, as for instance because they are overthrown by some alteration, as is read in Genesis 19:24 concerning Sodom and Gomorrah, whence he adds "the land out of which bread grew in its place," that is, as it were in its own and fitting place, "has been overturned with fire," namely the cause of its overthrow proceeds from a superabundance of heat; now when heat is superabundant it follows that the dissolutions, both dry and moist, arrive at a great digestion so that from thence certain precious things are generated, for instance stones or metals: whence as to precious stones which are generated from dry exhalation it is added "the place of the sapphire, its stones," namely of the earth overturned by fire; but as to precious metals which are generated from moist evaporation he adds "and its clods are gold." Now such places thus overturned, on account of the corruption of the air from the abundance of sulphur, not only men avoid but even brute animals; whence first as to birds, of which it seems less [obvious], he says "the path" — namely of that land — "the bird has not known," because namely it does not dare to fly over it on account of the corruption of the air, nor even to approach it, whence he adds "nor has the eye of the vulture looked upon it," which nevertheless is wont to see very well from a distance; or it can be explained otherwise: that land "has not known," that is, has not experienced, "the path of the bird," because namely not even a bird passes through it, "nor has [anyone's] eye looked upon it," namely anyone in that land, "the eye of the vulture." Then as to men he says "the sons of the merchants have not trodden it," that is, of the merchants who nevertheless are wont to go to difficult places for the sake of gain. Then as to four-footed animals he adds "nor has the lioness passed through it," which namely inhabits wooded places. But although these things are hidden from men, they nevertheless do not escape God, who exercises his power both in mountains and in rivers, whence he adds "he has stretched forth his hand to the flint," that is, to the stony mountains — that is, his power. And he manifests this in two effects: first, in that mountains are sometimes utterly destroyed, and this is what he adds, "he has overturned the mountains from their roots"; the second is that waters pass through the middle of mountains, as if a way had been cut for them by divine power from God in the rocks, whence he adds "he has cut out channels in the rocks," that is, the courses of streams. And just as his power extends to doing all magnificent things, so his wisdom extends to knowing all precious things, whence he adds "and his eye has seen every precious thing": for if he himself is able to overturn mountains, if he is able to cut out rocks and exercise like power over the whole earth, it follows that he sees the precious things that lie hidden there, although the eye of man cannot see them; and not only does his eye see those things which lie hidden in the earth, but "he has also searched the depths of rivers," that is, he knows so perfectly the things that lie hidden in the depths of rivers as if he had searched them, and a sign of this is that "he brings hidden things into the light," that is, into the manifestation of men.

"But wisdom, where is it found?" etc. Because he had shown that all the precious things which are found among corporeal things are contained in determined places, which, if they are unknown to men, are nevertheless known to God, in order to show the eminence of wisdom he first brings forward that it is not contained in a determined place, whence he says "but wisdom, where is it found?" As if he were to say: it is enclosed in no corporeal place because it is not something corporeal; but the things which are precious in bodies, not only they themselves but also their origins, are enclosed in corporeal places, but this cannot be said of wisdom, whence he adds "and what is the place of understanding?" For intellect is the principle of knowledge and wisdom; but just as wisdom is not enclosed by place, so also neither is understanding, which is its principle. Secondly he shows the dignity of wisdom in that it cannot be estimated by any price, whence he adds "man does not know its price," that is, nothing that man knows is a sufficient price for wisdom. Now he manifests each of the aforesaid points in consequence, and first indeed what he had said, that wisdom is not found in a determined place. Now the things which are reputed precious among men are found partly indeed among luxurious men who strive to gather the precious things of stones and metals, whence he adds "nor is it found in the land of those living pleasantly," that is, of the luxurious, because they themselves are most of all hindered from the perception of wisdom, having a heart occupied with delights. Partly, however, such precious things of corporeal things are found in certain dark depths, but it is not so with wisdom, whence he adds "the abyss says: it is not in me," as if to say that the things which lie hidden in the recesses of the depths are most of all hidden from human wisdom. Partly, however, they are found in the sea, both because they are generated there, as pearls in sea shells, or because they perish there in ships sunk there, but it is not so with wisdom; also because through the sea such precious things are usually carried from place to place, whence he adds "and the sea says: it is not with me" — nay rather, the things which are in the sea are most of all hidden from human wisdom. Then he manifests what he had said about the fact that wisdom cannot be estimated by a price, and he enumerates the things which are most precious among men, saying "refined gold will not be given for it," that is, the purest, because the price of wisdom cannot be estimated by any gold; after gold, however, among other things silver is reputed more precious, of which he adds "nor shall silver be weighed out in exchange for it." There are also, besides metals, certain most precious stones of different colors which grow especially in India, of which it is added "it shall not be compared" — that is, wisdom shall not be compared — "with the dyed colors of India," that is, with precious stones of different colors naturally dyed in India. And he subjoins concerning certain precious stones which are also found in other lands, whence he adds "nor with the most precious stone, sardonyx," which indeed is composed of two stones, namely of sard, which is of red color, kindling the mind to joy and sharpening the wit, and of onyx, which is bound to it as having certain harmful powers, namely of exciting sadness and fears, whose harm is checked by the sard: whence it is said to have the property of driving away lust, rendering a man chaste and modest, whence also it is named most precious; he adds, moreover, "nor with the sapphire," which is of a heavenly color, which is also precious on account of the many powers it has; nor does it matter that certain other stones are more precious, because the prices of stones are not the same either in all places or at all times. He adds, moreover, concerning those things which have their preciousness from beauty, saying "gold shall not be equal to it," which has beauty from splendor, "or glass," which has beauty from transparency, although it is not preeminent in the estimation of price. He adds, moreover, concerning those things which have beauty from artifice, when he says "vessels of gold shall not be exchanged for it, exalted" — namely in quantity — "and eminent," namely in composition. And just as they cannot be exchanged for wisdom, so also all the aforesaid things are reckoned as nothing in comparison to wisdom, whence he adds "nor shall they be mentioned in comparison with it," that is, it is not worthy that even a memory of these things be had when mention is made of the excellence of wisdom. And because he had said that certain corporeal things are hidden and on this account reputed precious, he consequently shows that this preciousness is not lacking to wisdom either, when it is added "but wisdom is drawn out of hidden things": for the origin of human wisdom is hidden in two ways: in one way on the part of the intellectual light which is derived to us from the most hidden of all causes, namely from God; in another way on the part of the things known, whose hidden properties and essences wisdom inquires into, and from these it ascends to the knowledge of divine things, which is most especially proper to wisdom. Whence he concludes that neither by reason of preciousness nor by reason of hiddenness can anything be compared to it, not even among precious stones, whence he adds "topaz from Ethiopia shall not be equal to it," which indeed is so called from the place of its first discovery, or because it presents a likeness to the color of gold; but as to precious garments he adds "nor shall the purest dyes be matched" — that is, of any silken or woolen cloth — "with it," that is, they shall not be compared to wisdom. Because therefore he had said that wisdom is thus incomparable and has a hidden origin, he inquires whence its principle is, when he adds "whence then does wisdom come?" that is, from where is it derived? "And what is the place of understanding?" that is, from what principle do men participate in the light of intellect? Now he shows that this principle exceeds all human knowledge, whence he adds "it is hidden from the eyes of all the living," because the fountain of wisdom is "the word of God in the heights," as is said in Ecclesiasticus 1:5. Now there were certain followers of auguries who believed that certain augural birds participated in a certain effect of wisdom above men, inasmuch as they believed that knowledge of future things came to men from them; but that wisdom exceeds this conjecture he shows by adding "it is hidden also from the birds of the sky," by which it can be understood that the origin of wisdom exceeds the heavenly bodies by which such birds are moved. There are also certain persons who would seek knowledge of future things from the dead, but not even this attains to the origin of wisdom, whence he adds "destruction and death have said: with our ears we have heard its fame"; and rightly does he attribute the fame of wisdom to death and destruction, because destruction and death imply a withdrawal and removal from the goods which wisdom follows upon. The three aforesaid things can, however, according to metaphor, pertain to three kinds of rational creature, so that what he says, "it is hidden from the eyes of all the living," refers to men; what he adds, "it is hidden from the birds of the sky," refers to Angels; and what is added, "destruction and death have said: we have heard its fame," refers to demons who, being damnably removed from God, have knowledge of divine wisdom only from afar, as it were from fame alone. Therefore, in order to show the root of wisdom, he adds "God understands its way," that is, the whole process of wisdom, since he himself is both the origin of wisdom and the place of understanding; and because he perfectly knows himself, he therefore adds "and he himself knows its place," that is, himself, in whom wisdom is fully found as in its first origin. Now wisdom is derived from him into all creatures, which are made through the wisdom of God, just as art is derived from the mind of the craftsman into his work, whence it is said in Ecclesiasticus 1:10 that God "pours out wisdom upon all his works"; whence also the whole universe of creatures is, as it were, a certain secondary place of wisdom; and therefore, to show that God knows the place of wisdom, he adds that he knows the universe of creatures: first indeed he shows this as to the outermost creatures, under which the others are contained, whence he adds "for he beholds the ends of the world," that is, the more excellent creatures in which the order of creatures is terminated, ascending from the lower ones, such as the heavenly bodies and the heavenly spirits; then he shows this as to the other creatures contained under them, such as the elements, whence he adds "and sees all things that are under heaven." And lest anyone should believe that he has knowledge of things received from things as we have, he shows in consequence that he knows things as the cause of all, whence he adds, as to certain hidden creatures, namely winds and rains, "who made a weight for the winds," that is, gave them an inclination of motion, so that namely they are moved sometimes to this side, sometimes to that. Then he speaks of rains, and first indeed according as they are raised up vaporously into the clouds, whence he adds "and weighed the waters," namely the vaporous ones, that is, holds them weighed in the air, and this "in measure," lest, namely, if they should exceed, they would submerge everything, or if they should be diminished more than is fitting, everything would be dried up; secondly as to the very generation of rains, when he says "when he made a law for the rains," that they should descend at certain times and places; thirdly as to the effect, and especially in the sea, which is most of all disturbed by the changing of the air, whence he adds "and a way" — namely he made — "for the resounding storms," namely of the sea, from great commotion, because also such storms arise at certain times and according to a certain quantity. But because he does not acquire wisdom from the creatures themselves as we do, but rather produced creatures from his own wisdom, he therefore adds "then" — namely when he was making creatures — "he saw it," namely wisdom, in himself, inasmuch as by the actual consideration of his wisdom he brought things into being. Now from him wisdom was derived, first indeed to the Angels, who were made participants of divine wisdom, and as to this he says "and declared it," namely by manifesting his wisdom to them; secondly to the universe of creatures, by disposing it through his wisdom, and to this pertains what he adds "and prepared," namely in his wisdom, the world; thirdly to men, who do not perceive the wisdom of truth by simple apprehension, as the Angels to whom it is declared, but arrive at it through the inquiry of reason, whence he adds "and searched it out," that is, he made men search it out, and this is what he adds "and said to man," namely by illuminating him through interior inspiration and communicating wisdom: "behold, the fear of the Lord" — which indeed I give to you as present — "that is wisdom," because through the fear of the Lord man cleaves to God, in whom is the true wisdom of man as in the highest of all causes; "and to depart from evil," that is, from sin by which man loses God, "is understanding," because indeed understanding is especially necessary for man for this, that through understanding he may discern evils from goods, which being avoided, through the carrying out of good works he may arrive at participation in the divine wisdom. Thus, therefore, because the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding, it follows that the just, who fear God and depart from evil, have wisdom and understanding, which are set before all earthly goods which wicked men possess: and thus it is manifest that in this the rationale of divine providence is preserved, in that to the just spiritual goods are given as being better, but to the wicked temporal goods are given as being transient.