Then Job rose up, and rent his garments, and having shaven his head fell down upon the ground and worshipped,

“Job's words may be more elegantly understood of evil and sin in this way: Naked was I formed from the earth at the beginning, as if from a mother's womb. Naked to the earth shall I also depart—naked not of possessions, for that would be a trivial and common thing; rather, naked of evil and sin and of the unsightly shape which follows those who have led bad lives. Obviously all of us human beings are born naked and again are buried naked, swathed only in grave clothes. For God has provided for us another life, and made the present life the way for the course which leads to it. He appoints the supplies derived from what we possess merely as provisions for the way. And when we come to the end of this way, the wealth, consisting of the things which we possessed, journeys no farther with us. For not a single thing that we possess is properly our own. We are properly owners of only one possession, that is, godliness. Death will not rob us of this when it overtakes us. It will, however, throw out everything else, although it will do so against our will. For it is for the support of life that we all have received what we possess; and after enjoying merely the use of it, each one departs, obtaining from life what amounts to a brief memento. For this is the end of all prosperity; this is the conclusion of the good things of this life. It is only right, then, that the infant upon opening its eyes after issuing from the womb, immediately begins with crying, not with laughter. For it weeps, as if bewailing life, at whose hands from the outset it tastes of deadly gifts. For immediately on being born its hands and feet are swaddled; and swathed in bonds, it begins nursing. O introduction to life, precursor to death! The child has but entered on life, and immediately there is put upon it the clothing of the dead; for nature reminds those that are born of their end. This is also why the child, on being born, wails, as if crying plaintively to its mother. Why, O mother, did you bring me out into this life in which prolongation of life is progress to death? Why have you brought me into this troubled world, in which, on being born, swaddled bands are my first experience? Why have you delivered me to such a life as this, in which both a pitiable youth wastes away before old age, and old age is shunned as under the doom of death? Dreadful, O mother, is the course of life, which has death as the goal of the runner. Bitter is the road of life we travel, with the grave as the wayfarer's inn. Perilous the sea of life we sail, for it has Hades as a pirate to attack us. Humankind alone is born in all aspects naked, without a weapon or clothing born with it. This does not mean you are inferior to the other animals, but the nakedness and the fact you bring nothing with you are designed to produce thought. That thought, in turn, may bring out dexterity, expel sloth, introduce the arts for the supply of our needs, and beget a variety of ingenuity. For, naked, human beings are full of contrivances, being pricked on by their necessity, as by a goad, to figure out how to escape rains, how to elude cold, how to fence off blows, how to till the earth, how to terrify wild beasts; how to subdue the more powerful of them. Wetted with rain, they conceive of a roof; having suffered from cold, they invent clothing; being struck, they constructed a breastplate; their hands bleeding with the thorns in tilling the ground, they avail themselves of the help of tools; in their naked state liable to become a prey to wild beasts, they discovered from their fear an art which frightened the very thing that frightened them. Nakedness begat one accomplishment after another, so that even their nakedness was a gift and benevolence. Accordingly, Job also being made naked of wealth, possessions, of the blessing of children, of a numerous offspring, and having lost everything in a short time, uttered this grateful explanation: "Naked came I out of the womb, naked also I shall depart thither," to God and to that blessed lot and rest.”

“Be perfectly assured of this, that though the reasons for what is ordained by God are beyond us, yet always what is arranged for us by him who is wise and who loves us is to be accepted, be it ever so grievous to endure. He himself knows how he is appointing what is best for each and why the terms of life that he fixes for us are unequal. There exists some reason incomprehensible to us why some are sooner carried far away from us, and some are left a longer while behind to bear the burdens of this painful life. So we should always adore his lovingkindness and not express discontent, remembering those great and famous words of the great athlete Job, when he had seen ten children at one table, in one short moment, crushed to death, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away." As the Lord thought good so it came to pass. Let us adopt those marvelous words. At the hands of the righteous Judge, those who demonstrate similar good deeds shall receive a similar reward. We have not lost the boy; we have restored him to the Lender. His life is not destroyed; it is changed for the better. He whom we love is not hidden in the ground; he is received into heaven. Let us wait a little while, and we shall be once more with him. The time of our separation is not long, for in this life we are all like travelers on a journey, hurrying on to the same shelter. While one has reached his rest, another arrives, another hurries on, but one and the same end awaits them all. He has outstripped us on the way, but we shall all travel the same road, and the same hostel awaits us all.”

“Do not believe, dear brothers, that Job's gesture indicates a defeat. It is, above all, a sign of victory. Indeed, if he had done nothing, he would have appeared to be insensitive. Job actually demonstrates himself to be altogether wise, fatherly and pious. What damage did he suffer? He grieves not only for the loss of his children and his cattle but also for the way they died. Who would have not been shattered by such events? Which man of steel would have not been affected? Paul himself often expressed his tearful reaction to events, "What are you doing weeping and breaking my heart?" We should admire Paul's response. In the same way, Job also deserves to be admired because, in spite of the emotion that pushed him to make that moving gesture, he does not speak a single inappropriate word.”

“HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION There are some who account it a high degree of philosophical fortitude, if, when corrected by severe discipline, they are insensible to the strokes, and to the pains of those stripes. And there are some who feel to such excess the infliction of the blows, that under the influence of immediate grief, they even fall into excesses of the tongue. But whoever strives to maintain true philosophy, must go between either extreme, for the weightiness of true virtue consists not in dulness of heart, as also those limbs are very unhealthy from numbness which cannot feel any pain even when cut. Again, he deserts his guard over virtue, who feels the pain of chastisement beyond what is necessary; for while the heart is affected with excessive sorrow, it is stirred up to the extent of impatient reviling, and he who ought to have amended his misdeeds by means of the stripes, does his part that his wickedness should be increased by the correction. Agreeably to which, against the insensibility in the chastised, the words of the Prophet are, Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. Against the faintheartedness of the chastened the Psalmist hath it, They will never stand fast in adversity; for they would 'stand fast in adversity,' if they bore calamities with patience, but so soon as they sink in spirit, when pressed with blows, they as it were lose the firmness of their footing, amidst the miseries inflicted on them. Thus because blessed Job observed the rule of the true philosophy, he kept himself from either extreme with the evenness of a marvellous skill, that he might not by being insensible to the pain contemn the strokes, nor again, by feeling the pain immoderately, be hurried madly against the visitation of the Striker. For when all his substance was lost, all his children gone, he rose up, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. In that he rent his mantle, in that he shaved his head and fell down upon the ground, he shews, we see, that he has felt the pain of the scourge; but in that it is added that he worshipped, it is plainly shewn that even in the midst of pain, he did not break forth against the decree of the Smiter. He was not altogether unmoved, lest by his very insensibility he should shew a contempt of God; nor was he completely in commotion, lest by excess of grief he should commit sin. But because there are two commandments of love, i.e. the love of God, and of our neighbour; that he might discharge the love of our neighbour, he paid the debt of mourning to his sons; that he might not forego the love of God, he performed the office of prayer amidst his groans. There are some that use to love God in prosperity, but in adversity to abate their love of Him from whom the stroke comes. But blessed Job, by that sign which he outwardly shewed in his distress, proved that he acknowledged the correction of his Father, but herein, that he continued humbly worshipping, he shewed that even under pain he did not give over the love of that Father. Therefore that he might not shew pride by his insensibility, he fell down at the stroke, but that he might not estrange himself from the Striker, he so fell down as to worship. But it was the practice of ancient times for everyone, who kept up the appearance of his person by encouraging the growth of his hair, to cut it off in seasons of mourning; and, on the other hand that he who in peaceful times kept his hair cut, should in evidencing his distress cherish its growth. Thus blessed Job is shewn to have preserved his hair in the season of rest, when he is related to have shaven his head for the purpose of mourning, that whereas the hand of the Most High was fallen upon him in all the circumstances of his condition, the altered mien of penance might even by his own act overcloud him. But such an one, spoiled of his substance, bereft of his children, that rent his mantle, that shaved his head, that fell down upon the ground, let us hear what he says! ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION When his sons were destroyed in the ruin of the house, Job arose, because when Judaea was lost in unbelief, and when the Preachers were fallen in the death of fear, the Redeemer of mankind raised Himself from the death of His carnal nature; He shewed in what judgment He abandoned His persecutors to themselves. For His rising is the shewing with what severity He forsakes sinners, just as His lying down is the patient endurance of ills inflicted. He rises then, when He executes the decrees of justice against the reprobate. And hence He is rightly described to have rent his mantle. For what stood as the mantle of the Lord, but the Synagogue, which by the preaching of the Prophets clung to the expectation of His Incarnation? For in the same way that He is now clothed with those by whom He is loved, as Paul is witness, who says, That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot nor wrinkle; (for that which is described as having neither spot or wrinkle is surely made appear as a spiritual robe; and at once clean in practice, and stretched in hope;) so when Judaea believed Him as yet to be made Incarnate, it was no less a garment through its clinging to Him. But because He was looked for before He came, and coming, taught new truths, and teaching, wrought wonders, and working wonders, underwent wrongs, He rent His mantle, which He had put on Him, seeing that in Judaea some he withdrew from unbelief, whilst some He left therein. What then is the rent mantle but Judaea divided in contrary opinions? For, if His mantle had not been rent, the Evangelist would not have said that, at the preaching of our Lord, there arose strife among the people; For some said, He is a good man; others said, Nay, but He deceiveth the people. For that mantle of His was rent, in that being divided in opinions it lost the unity of concord. It proceeds; And shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. What is signified by the hair that was shorn but the minuteness of Sacraments? what by the head but the High Priesthood? Hence too it is said to the prophet Ezekiel, And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head, and upon thy beard; clearly that by the Prophet's act the judgment of the Redeemer might be set out, Who when He came in the flesh 'shaved the head,' in that he took clean away from the Jewish Priesthood the Sacraments of His commandments; 'and shaved the beard,' in that in forsaking the kingdom of Israel, He cut off the glory of its excellency. And what is here expressed by the earth, but sinful man? For to the first man that sinned the words were spoken; Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. By the name of the earth then is signified the sinful Gentile world; for whilst Judaea thought herself righteous, it appears how damnable she thought the Gentile world, as Paul is witness, who saith, We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles. Therefore our Mediator, as it were, shaved His head, and fell down upon the earth, seeing that in forsaking Judaea, whilst He took away His Sacraments from her Priesthood, He came to the knowledge of the Gentiles. For He 'shaved the hair from His Head,' because He took away from that His first Priesthood the Sacraments of the Law. And He fell upon the earth, because He gave Himself to sinners for their salvation; and while He gave up those who appeared to themselves righteous, He took to Himself those, who both knew and confessed that they were unrighteous. And hence He Himself declares in the Gospel, For judgment I am come into this world, that they that see not might see, and that they which see might be made blind. And hence the pillar of the cloud, which went before the people in the wilderness, shone with a radiant flame of fire not in the day but in the night; for this reason, that our Redeemer, in giving guidance to those that followed Him by the example of life and conduct, yielded no light to such as trusted in their own righteousness, but all those who acknowledged the darkness of their sins, He shone with the fire of His love. Nor, because Job is said to fall on the earth, let us account this to be an unworthy representation of our Redeemer. For it is written, The Lord sent a Word into Jacob, and it hath fallen upon Israel. For Jacob means one that overthrows another, and Israel, one that sees God. And what is signified by Jacob but the Jewish people, and by Israel but the Gentile world? For in that very One Whom Jacob aimed to overthrow by the death of the flesh, the Gentile world, by the eyes of faith, beheld God. And thus the Word, that was sent to Jacob, lighted upon Israel; for Him whom the Jewish people rejected when He came to them, the Gentile world at once owned and found. For concerning the Holy Spirit it is written, The Spirit of God fell upon them. And for this reason either the Word of God or the Holy Spirit is said to fall in Holy Scripture, to describe the suddenness of His coming. For whatever rushes down or falls, comes to the bottom directly. And therefore it is as if the Mediator had fallen upon the earth, that without any previous signs He unexpectedly came to the Gentiles. And it is well said, that He fell down upon the earth and worshipped, in that whilst He Himself undertook the low estate of the flesh, He poured into the hearts of believers the breathings of humility. For He did this, in that He taught the doing of it, in the same way that it is said of His Holy Spirit, But the Spirit itself maketh request for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Not that He petitions, Who is of perfect equality, but He is said to make request for no other reason than that He causes those to make request whose hearts He has filled: though our Redeemer, moreover, manifested this in His own Person, Who even besought the Father when He was drawing nigh to His Passion. For what wonder if, in the form of a servant, He submitted Himself to the Father by pouring out His supplications to Him, when in the same He even underwent the violence of sinners, to the very extremity of death. MORAL INTERPRETATION For sitting betokens one at ease, but rising, one in a conflict. His rising, then, when he heard the evil tidings, is setting the mind more resolutely for conflicts, after the experience of temptations, by which very temptations even the power of discernment is the gainer, in that it learns the more perfectly to distinguish good from evil. And therefore it is well added, And rent his mantle. We 'rend our mantle,' whenever we review with a discriminating eye our past deeds; for unless with God our deeds were as a cloak that covered us, it would never have been declared by the voice of an Angel, Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame; for 'our shame' is then 'seen,' when our life, appearing worthy of condemnation in the eyes of the righteous in judgment, has not the covering of after good practice. But because, as often as we are tempted with guilt, we are prompted to mourning, and being stirred by our own lamentations, open the eyes of the mind to the more perfect perception of the light of righteousness, we as it were rend our mantle in grief, in that in consequence of our weeping discretion being strengthened, we chastise all that we do with greater strictness, and with wrathful hand. Then all our high-mindedness comes down, then all our overcunningness is dropped from our thoughts; and hence it is added, And shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. For what do we understand in a moral sense by hair, but the wandering thoughts of the mind? and hence it is elsewhere said to the Church, Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet; and thy speech is comely; for a thread binds the hairs of the head. So the lips of the Spouse are like a thread, in that by the exhortations of Holy Church all dissipated thoughts in the minds of her hearers are put in bands, that they may not roam at large, and be spread abroad amongst forbidden objects, and thus spread abroad, lie heavy on the eyes of the mind, but may as it were gather themselves to one direction, in that the thread of holy preaching binds them. Which also is well represented to be of scarlet; for the preaching of the Saints glows only with charity. And what is signified by the head, but that very mind, which is principal in every action? Whence it is elsewhere said, And let thy head lack no ointment; for ointment upon the head is charity in the heart; and there is lack of ointment upon the head, when there is a withdrawal of charity from the heart. The shaving of the head then is the cutting off all superfluous thoughts from the mind. And he shaveth his head and falls upon the earth, who, restraining thoughts of self-presumption, humbly acknowledges how weak he is in himself. For it is hard for a man to do great things, and not to harbour confident thoughts in his own mind on the score of his great doings. For from this very fact, that we are living in strenuous opposition to our vices, presumptuous imaginations are engendered in the heart; and while the mind valorously beats down the evil habits without her, she is very often inwardly swoln within herself; and now she accounts herself to have some special merits, nor ever imagines that she sins in the conceits of self-esteem. But in the eyes of the severe Judge she is so much the worse delinquent, as the sin committed, in proportion as it is the more concealed, is well nigh incorrigible; and the pit is opened the wider to devour, the more proudly the life we lead glories in itself. Hence, as we have often said before, it is brought to pass by the merciful dispensations of our Creator, that the soul that places confidence in itself is struck down by a providential temptation; that being brought low it may find out what it is, and may lay aside the haughtiness of self-presumption. For as soon as the mind feels the blow of temptation, all the presumption and swelling of our thoughts abates. For when the mind is lifted up in pride, it breaks out as it were into usurpation. And it has for the attendants of its tyrannical power, its own imaginations that flatter it. But if an enemy assaults the tyrant, the favour of those attendants is speedily at an end. For when the adversary finds entrance the attendants fly, and fall away from him in fear, whom in time of peace they extolled with cunning flattery. But, when the attendants are withdrawn, he remains alone in the face of the enemy; for when high thoughts are gone, the troubled mind sees itself only and the temptation, and thus upon healing of evil tidings, the head is shaved, whensoever under the violent assault of temptation the mind is bared of the thoughts of self-assurance. For what does it mean that the Nazarites let their hair grow long, saving that by a life of special continency proud thoughts gain ground? And what does it signify, that, the act of devotion over, the Nazarite is commanded to shave his head, and cast the hair into the sacrificial fire, but that we then reach the height of perfection, when we so overcome our external evil habits, as to discard from the mind even thoughts that are superfluous? To consume these in the sacrificial fire is, plainly, to set them on fire with the flame of divine love; that the whole heart should glow with the love of God, and burning up every superfluous thought, should as it were consume the hair of the Nazarite in completing his devotion. And observe that he fell upon the earth and worshipped; for he sets forth to God the true worship, who in humility sees that he is dust, who attributes no goodness to himself, who owns that the good that he does is from the mercy of the Creator.”

“"There was a man in the land of Hus," etc. Because, as has been said, the whole intention of this book is ordered to showing how human affairs are governed by divine providence, there is set forth first, as it were the foundation of the whole disputation, a certain history in which the manifold affliction of a certain just man is recounted: for this is the very thing which seems most of all to exclude divine providence from human affairs. First, therefore, the person of this man is described, both as to sex, when it is said "there was a man" (for this sex is found more robust for enduring troubles), and as to homeland, when it is said "in the land of Hus," which is in the regions of the east, and as to name, when it is said "by the name of Job"; and these two seem to be set down in order to suggest that what is being related is not a parable but an actual event. And lest anyone should believe that the adversities afterward brought upon him befell him on account of this man's sins, his virtue is consequently described, by which he is shown to be immune from sins. For it must be known that a man sins in three ways: there are certain sins by which one sins against one's neighbor, such as murders, adulteries, thefts, and the like; certain by which one sins against God, such as perjury, sacrilege, blasphemy, and the like; certain by which each one sins against himself, according to the word of the Apostle, 1 Corinthians 6:18, "he who fornicates sins against his own body." Now one sins against one's neighbor in two ways, secretly through guile and openly through force; but this man did not circumvent his neighbor through guile, whence it is said, "and that man was simple," for simplicity is properly opposed to guile; he did no violence to anyone, for there follows "and upright," for uprightness properly pertains to justice, which consists in equality, according to Isaiah 26:7, "the path of the just is straight, the way of the just is right for walking." That he did not sin against God is openly shown by what is added, "and fearing God," in which reverence toward God is designated. That he did not sin against himself either is shown by what is added, "and departing from evil," because he held evil in hatred for its own sake, not only on account of harm to his neighbor or offense to God. Having thus described both the person and the virtue of this man, his prosperity is consequently shown, so that the following adversity may be judged the more grievous from the preceding prosperity, and at the same time to show that by God's first intention good things are always granted to the just, not only spiritual goods but temporal ones as well; but that the just are sometimes oppressed by adversities happens on account of some special cause: whence also from the beginning man was so constituted that he would be subject to no disturbances if he had remained in innocence. Now the beginning of temporal prosperity, after the good standing of one's own person, consists in persons joined to one, and especially in one's children, who are in a certain way something of their parents. Therefore his prosperity is first described as to the fruitfulness of offspring, when it is said, "and there were born to him seven sons and three daughters." Fittingly a greater number of males than females is set down, because parents are wont to be more fond of sons than of daughters, both because that which is more perfect is more desirable — for males are compared to females as the perfect to the imperfect — and because parents are usually more assisted in the conduct of affairs by sons than by daughters. Then his prosperity is shown as to abundance of riches, and especially in animals: for around the beginning of the human race, on account of the scarcity of men, the possession of fields was not so valuable as that of animals, and especially in the regions of the east, in which even to this day there are few inhabitants in proportion to the breadth of the region. Among the animals, first are set down those which serve most for the food and clothing of the person, namely sheep, whence it is said, "and his possession was seven thousand sheep"; second are set down those which serve most for bearing burdens, namely camels, and this is what is added, "and three thousand camels"; third are set down those which serve for the tilling of fields, and this is what is added, "also five hundred yoke of oxen"; fourth are set down the animals which men use for conveyance, whence there follows "and five hundred she-asses," from which mules are generated, upon which the ancients especially used to ride. Under these four kinds of animals are comprised all the others which serve the same uses — for instance, under sheep, everything necessary for food and clothing, and so for the rest. And because men possessing many riches need a multitude of servants to govern them, fittingly there is added, "and a very great household." Consequently his prosperity is set down as to honor and fame, which was spread far and wide, and this is what is said, "and that man was great among all the people of the East," that is, honored and famous. For the greater commendation of Job himself, the discipline of his household is consequently described, which was free from those vices which opulence is wont to beget. For very often abundance of riches gives rise to discord, whence it is read in Genesis that Abraham and Lot could not dwell together, in order to avoid the quarreling that arose from the abundance of their possessions. Frequently, too, men possessing many things, since they love immoderately what they possess, use them the more tenaciously; whence it is said, Ecclesiastes 6:1-2, "there is another evil which I have seen under the sun, and indeed a frequent one among men: a man to whom God has given riches and substance and honor, and nothing is lacking to his soul of all that he desires, yet God does not give him the power to eat of it." From these evils, then, the house of blessed Job was free: for there was concord in it, and joyful and fair frugality, which is signified when it is said, "and his sons went and held feasts, each in his house on his day." And this charity and concord was not only among the brothers but extended even to the sisters, who are frequently despised by brothers on account of the pride which opulence very much begets, whence it is added, "and sending, they called their three sisters to eat and drink wine with them." At the same time there is also designated in this the security that was had concerning the chastity of the daughters; for otherwise they were not to be led about but kept enclosed, according to the word of the wise man, Ecclesiasticus 26:13, "over a daughter who does not turn herself away, keep firm watch, lest, an occasion found, she abuse herself." As frugality and concord flourished in the house of Job, so in Job himself there flourished a holy solicitude for purity, which riches frequently overwhelm or even diminish, according to Deuteronomy, "the beloved grew fat and kicked," and afterward there follows, "he forsook God his maker," etc. And indeed he was so solicitous for his own purity that he was wholly removed from those things which could defile him: for it was said above that he was "fearing God and departing from evil." But he was also most solicitous concerning the purity of his sons; he permitted them, to be sure, to hold feasts, indulging their age — for certain things are tolerated in the young which are reprehensible in persons of weight. And because at feasts men can scarcely, or never, avoid giving offense either through inept mirth or through disorderly talkativeness or even through immoderate use of food, to the sons whom he did not restrain from feasting he offered the remedy of purification, whence it is said, "and when the days of the feast had gone round in a circle, Job sent to them and sanctified them." Now the days of the feast are said to go round in a circle because, since there were seven sons and each one held a feast on his day, through all the days of the week in sequence they completed feasts of this kind; afterward, as it were circularly or in a circle, just as through the days of the week so also through the feasts, they returned to the beginning. Now it is to be noted that although Job indulged his sons in holding feasts, yet he, preserving his own gravity, did not mingle himself with their feasts: whence it is said that "he sent to them," not that he himself went to them. The manner of the sanctification by which he sanctified them through a messenger can be understood in two ways: either because he had them instructed with wholesome admonitions, so that if they had done anything wrong at the feasts they might amend it, or else they had some rite of expiation by which sins of this kind were expiated, just as sacrifices too were given even before the Law, as well as the offering of first fruits and of tithes. Now at feasts men sometimes incur not only impurity in the ways aforesaid, but are even plunged into graver sins, even to the contempt of God, when reason is absorbed by wantonness and drawn away from divine reverence, as it is said in Exodus, "the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play," that is, to fornicate or to sacrifice to idols. Job, therefore, not only came to the aid of his sons against light offenses by sanctifying them, but also strove to apply a remedy against graver offenses by which God might be appeased toward them, whence there follows, "and rising at dawn he offered holocausts for each one." In these words the perfection of his devotion is shown, both as to time, because he rose at dawn, according to the word of the Psalm, "in the morning I will stand before you," etc.; and as to the manner of the offering, because he offered holocausts, which were wholly burned up in honor of God, no part being left for the use of the one offering or of the one for whom it was offered, as was the case in peace offerings and sin offerings — for a holocaust is so called as being, as it were, wholly burnt; and as to the number, because he offered holocausts for each of his sons individually, for individual sins are to be expiated by fitting satisfactions. He then adds the cause of the offering of the holocausts, saying, "for he said" — namely Job in his heart, not indeed being certain of his sons' sins but in doubt — "lest perhaps my sons have sinned," namely in deed or in word, "and have blessed God in their hearts." This can be understood in two ways. In one way, that the whole be understood conjointly: for although to bless God is a good thing, yet to bless God on account of the fact that one has sinned signifies a will resting content in sins, and in this respect it is blamed, as it is said in Zechariah against certain people: "feed the flock of slaughter, which those who possessed them killed and did not grieve, and sold them saying: Blessed be the Lord, we have become rich." In another way, that it be understood disjunctively, so that by what is said, "have blessed," is understood "have cursed": for the crime of blasphemy is so horrible that pious mouths shrink from naming it by its own name, but signify it by its opposite. And fittingly holocausts are offered for the sin of blasphemy, because those things which are committed against God are to be purged by divine honoring. Now it is wont to happen that divine worship is devoutly performed by some if it is rare, but when it has become frequent it comes into disdain, which is the sin of acedia, when someone, that is, grows sad over spiritual labor. To this vice Job was not subject, for it is added, "so did Job all the days," as one preserving a devotion persevering in divine worship. "Now on a certain day, when the sons," etc. After the prosperity of blessed Job has been enumerated, his adversity is set down, and first the cause of it is introduced. And lest anyone should think that the adversities of the just proceed apart from divine providence, and through this suppose that human affairs are not subject to providence, it is set forth beforehand how God has care of human affairs and dispenses them. This is proposed symbolically and under a figure, according to the custom of sacred Scripture, which describes spiritual things under the figures of bodily things, as is clear in Isaiah 6:1, "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up," and in the beginning of Ezekiel and in many other places. And although spiritual things are set forth under the figures of bodily things, nevertheless those things which are intended concerning spiritual matters through sensible figures do not pertain to the mystical sense but to the literal sense, because the literal sense is that which is first intended through the words, whether properly spoken or figuratively. Now it must be known that divine providence governs things in such an order that it dispenses the lower through the higher: for bodies subject to generation and corruption are subjected to the motion of the heavenly bodies, and likewise the lower rational spirits united to mortal bodies, namely souls, are administered through the higher incorporeal spirits. Now ecclesiastical tradition holds this, that among the incorporeal spirits there are certain good ones who, preserving the purity in which they were created, enjoy the divine glory, never departing from the will of God: and these spirits are sometimes called Angels in the Scriptures, that is, messengers, because they announce divine things to men, and sometimes they are called sons of God insofar as they are assimilated to God through participation in glory. But there are certain evil spirits, not by nature or by creation, since God is the author of every nature, nor can the highest good be the cause of anything but good things, but they are evil through their own fault; spirits of this kind are called Demons in the Scriptures, and the first of them is called the Devil, as it were falling downward, or also Satan, that is, adversary. Both kinds of spirits, then, move men to do certain things, the good ones indeed to good things, the evil ones to evil things. And just as men are moved by God through the aforesaid spirits, so also the things that are done through men are said in the Scriptures to be referred, through the mediation of these same spirits, to the divine examination. To show, therefore, that both the good and the evil things which men do are subject to the divine judgment, it is said, "now on a certain day, when the sons of God came to stand before the Lord, Satan also was present among them." Now it must be known that the Angels, who are here called sons of God, are said to stand before the Lord in two ways: in one way inasmuch as God is beheld by them, as it is written in Daniel, "thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him"; in another way inasmuch as the Angels themselves and their acts are beheld by God — for those who stand before some lord both behold him and are beheld by him. In the first way, then, to stand before does not befit the Angels except the blessed ones who enjoy the divine vision, nor all of these, but only those among them who exist as the higher ones, who enjoy the divine vision more intimately and who do not go out to exterior ministries, according to the opinion of Dionysius: whence in the aforesaid authority of Daniel those who stand before are also distinguished from those who minister. In the second way, however, to stand before befits not only all the good Angels but also the evil ones, and even men, because whatever is done through them is subjected to the divine sight and examination, and on this account it is said that "when the sons of God came to stand before the Lord, Satan also was present among them." And although the things that are administered through good or evil Angels are continually subjected to the divine sight and examination, and thus the sons of God are always standing before him and Satan is always present among them, it is nevertheless said "on a certain day," according to the custom of Scripture, which sometimes designates through time those things which are above time, from certain things which are said to occur in time; just as at the beginning of Genesis it is said that God said certain things on the first or second day, although his speaking is eternal, on account of the fact that the things said by him came to be in time. So too now, because the deed which is now intended took place at a determined time, the administrators of this deed are said to have stood before the Lord on a certain day, although they never cease to stand before the Lord. It must also be considered that the things done through good Angels are referred to the divine judgment otherwise than those done through evil ones. For the good Angels intend that what they do be referred to God, and therefore it is said that the sons of God came to stand before the Lord, as it were subjecting all things to the divine judgment by their own motion and intention; but the evil Angels do not intend to refer what they do to God, but, though they are unwilling, it happens to them that whatever they do is subjected to the divine judgment, and therefore it is not said of Satan that he came to stand before the Lord, but only that he "was present among them." Now it is said "among them" both on account of the equality of nature, and to suggest that evil things are not from a principal intention but come upon good things as it were incidentally. There is, moreover, a difference between the things done through good Angels and evil ones: for the good Angels do nothing except what they are moved to by divine command and will, for in all things they follow the divine will; but the evil ones by their own will are at discord with God, whence the things they themselves do exist as alien from God as regards their intention. And because we are not accustomed to ask about the things which we ourselves do, but about the things which happen apart from us, therefore it is not said that the Lord asked anything of the sons of God, but only of Satan, and this is what is added, "to whom the Lord said: whence do you come?" And it is to be noted that the Lord does not say to him, "what are you doing?" or "where are you?" but "whence do you come?" Because the very deeds which are procured through the Demons sometimes proceed from the divine will, in that through them either the wicked are punished or the good are exercised; but the intention of the Demons is always evil and alien from God, and therefore it is asked of Satan, "whence do you come?" because his intention, from which his whole action proceeds, is alien from God. Now it must be known that "to say" is taken in two ways, for sometimes it is referred to the concept of the heart, sometimes to the signification by which such a concept is expressed to another. According to the first way, then, the speaking of God is eternal and is nothing other than begetting the Son, who is his Word. In the second way, however, God says certain things temporally, yet in various manners according to what is fitting to those to whom he speaks: for to men having bodily senses God has sometimes spoken with a bodily sound formed in some created subject, as the voice sounded at the Baptism and at the Transfiguration of Christ, "this is my beloved son"; sometimes, however, through an imaginative vision, as is read many times in the prophets; sometimes through an intelligible expression, and in this way it must be understood that God said something to Satan, inasmuch as he causes him to understand that the things he himself does are beheld by God. Just as, then, God's speaking to Satan is his affording him knowledge, so Satan's answering God is not indeed his conveying knowledge of some thing to God, but his considering that all his own doings are open to the divine sight, and according to this manner it is said, "who answering said: I have gone about the earth and walked through it." Through this, then, that the Lord says to Satan, "whence do you come?" God examines the intention and acts of the Devil; and through this, that Satan answers, "I have gone about the earth and walked through it," as it were rendering to God an account of his own acts, so that from both it may be shown that all things which are done through Satan are subject to divine providence. Now through his going about, Satan's craftiness is shown, in exploring whom he may be able to deceive, according to 1 Peter 5, "your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, goes about, seeking whom he may devour." Fittingly, moreover, craftiness is designated through going about, just as simple justice is designated through the straight: for the straight is that whose middle does not depart from its extremes; because, therefore, the action of the just man does not disagree with its principle, which is the will, and its intended end, uprightness is fittingly ascribed to the just; but it is characteristic of the crafty to pretend one thing and intend another, and thus what they display from their work departs from the extremes, since it agrees neither with their will nor with their end: whence the crafty are rightly said to go about, on account of which it is written, "the wicked walk about in a circle." Now it must be known that although the Devil applies the pursuit of his craftiness toward all, both good and evil, yet he attains the effect of his craftiness only in the evil, who are rightly called earth; for since man is composed of a spiritual nature and earthly flesh, the evil of man consists in this, that, having abandoned the spiritual goods to which he is ordered according to his rational mind, he clings to earthly goods, which befit him according to his earthly flesh: and therefore the evil, inasmuch as they follow their earthly nature, are rightly called earth. This earth, then, Satan not only goes about but also walks through, because in them he completes the effect of his malice: for in the walking through, the completion of his process is designated, just as, on the contrary, it is said of just men that God walks in them, whence the Apostle in 2 Corinthians 6:16 introduces, "I will dwell in them and walk among them." Something else too can be understood from this. For there is a threefold condition of living beings: some are above the earth, that is, in heaven, as the Angels and all the blessed; some are on the earth, as men living in mortal flesh; some are under the earth, as the Demons and all the damned. The first, then, Satan neither goes about nor walks through, because in the heavenly citizens there can be no malice, just as no evil of nature is found in the heavenly bodies; those who are in Hell he walks through but does not go about, because he holds them wholly subjected to his malice, nor is it necessary for him to use any craftiness to deceive them; but those who are on the earth he goes about and walks through, because he strives both to deceive them by craftiness and to draw some of them to his malice — these being the ones most designated by the earth, as has been said. And that by the earth earthly men are designated is shown quite openly by the fact that the Lord, though Job dwells on the earth, seems to separate him from the earth. For when Satan had said, "I have gone about the earth and walked through it," there is added, "and the Lord said to him: have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth?" For it would seem to be asked in vain whether he had considered Job, who was asserting that he had gone about and walked through the earth, unless he understood his servant Job to be apart from the earth. And he clearly shows in what respect he is separated from the earth by saying, "my servant Job." For man is constituted as it were midway between God and earthly things, for by his mind he cleaves to God, but by his flesh he is joined to earthly things; and every mean between two things recedes the more from one extreme the more it approaches the other: man, therefore, the more he cleaves to God, the more distant he is from the earth. Now this is what it is to be a servant of God, to cleave to God in mind, for a servant is one who is not for his own sake: but he who cleaves to God in mind orders himself into God as it were a servant of love, not of fear. And it is to be noted that earthly affections in some way, though at a distance, imitate the spiritual affections by which the mind is joined to God, but can in no way arrive at their likeness: for earthly love falls short of the love of God, and consequently every affection does, for the principle of any affection whatsoever is love. Whence fittingly, after he had said, "have you considered my servant Job," there is added, "that there is none like him on the earth," because nothing among earthly things can be equal to spiritual things. Although it can also be understood otherwise: for in each saint there is some pre-eminence of virtue as regards some special use, on account of which it is sung of each individual confessor in the Church, "there has not been found one like unto him who kept the law of the Most High," except that in Christ all things existed according to most perfect excellence; and according to this manner it can be understood that no one among the inhabitants of the earth was like Job, inasmuch as Job excelled as regards some particular exercise of virtue. Now in what respect Job was a servant of God and none like him on the earth, he shows when he adds, "a simple man, and upright, and fearing God, and departing from evil," which, since they have been expounded above, may for the present be set aside. Now it must be considered that God orders the life of the just not only to their own good but also renders it conspicuous to others; but those who behold it are not affected toward it in the same way: for the good, having it as an example, profit from it, but the evil, if they are not corrected so as to become good by its example, fall short upon beholding the life of the saints, either being tormented by envy or striving to pervert it by false judgments, according to the word of the Apostle, 2 Corinthians 2:15-16, "we are the good odor of Christ unto God, both in those who are being saved and in those who are perishing: to some indeed the odor of death unto death, but to others the odor of life unto life." Thus, then, God wills the life of the saints to be considered not only by the elect unto the advancement of salvation, but also by the wicked unto the increase of their damnation, because from the life of the saints the reprehensible perversity of the impious is shown, according to what is said in Wisdom 4:16, "the just, dead, condemns the impious living." And therefore the Lord says to Satan, "have you considered my servant Job," etc., as if to say: you indeed go about and walk through the earth, but my servant Job you can only consider and marvel at his virtue. Now it is the custom of perverse men, of whom Satan is the prince and here bears their person, that, since they cannot reprove the life of the saints, they slander them as not acting from a right intention, according to Ecclesiasticus 11:33, "turning good things into evil he lies in wait, and upon the elect he will impose a stain." And this appears from what is added, "to whom Satan answering said: does Job fear God in vain?" As if to say: I cannot deny that he does good things, but he does not do this from a right intention out of love for you and of honesty, but on account of the temporal things he has obtained from you. And therefore he says, "does Job fear God in vain?" For we are said to do something in vain when we cannot attain what we intend by it; but Job serves you on account of the temporal things he has obtained from you, whence it is not in vain that in serving you he fears you. And that he has obtained temporal prosperity he shows as to two things. First as to immunity from evils, namely that he had been preserved by God from every adversity, and this is what he says, "have you not hedged him," that is, protected him as a rampart or a wall protects, "and his house," as to his offspring and household, "and all his substance," as to his possessions; and he adds "round about," so that a perfect immunity may be shown, because that which is hedged round about can suffer assault from no side. Second he shows his prosperity as to the multiplication of goods, and this is what he says, "you have blessed the works of his hands." And indeed, since God makes all things by speaking, for God to bless is to give goodness to things: God, then, blesses someone's works when he brings them to a good end so that they attain their due end. And because certain goods come to a man apart from his own work and intention, on this account he adds, "and his possession has increased in the land." Thus, then, Satan slanders the deeds of blessed Job as though he did them from an intention of earthly advantage; whence it is manifest that the good things we do are not referred to earthly prosperity as to a reward, otherwise it would not be a perverse intention if someone were to serve God on account of temporal prosperity; and likewise, on the contrary, temporal adversity is not the proper punishment of sins, a question which will occupy nearly the whole book. Now Satan wishes to show that Job had served God on account of the earthly prosperity he had obtained, by the opposite proof: for if, temporal prosperity ceasing, Job should cease to fear God, it would become manifest that he feared God on account of the temporal prosperity he enjoyed; and therefore he adds, "but stretch forth your hand a little and touch all that he possesses," namely by taking it away, "unless he shall bless you to your face," that is, shall openly curse you — understand: "let evil befall me." And it is to be noted that even the hearts of the truly just are sometimes moved by great adversity, but the falsely just are disturbed by even slight adversity, as having no root of virtue. Satan, then, wishes to suggest that Job was not truly just but only in pretense, and therefore he says that if he were touched even a little by adversity he would murmur against God, which is to blaspheme God. And he pointedly says, "unless he shall bless you to your face," to signify that even in prosperity he was in a certain way blaspheming God in his heart, in that he preferred temporal things to love of him, but with prosperity removed he would blaspheme even to his face, that is, openly. This too — "unless he shall bless you to your face" — can be understood otherwise, so that "blessing" be taken properly, and the sense be: if you touch him a little by taking away his earthly prosperity, let this befall me, unless it become manifest that he had before blessed you not in his true heart but to the face, that is, for the appearance of men. And because, as has been said, the Lord wills the virtue of the saints to be known to all, both good and evil, it pleased him that, just as all had beheld his good deeds, so also his right intention should be made manifest to all: and therefore he willed to deprive Job of earthly prosperity, so that, with him persevering in the fear of God, it might become manifest that he feared God from a right intention and not on account of temporal things. But it must be known that God punishes the wicked both through good Angels and through evil ones, but he never brings adversity upon the good except through evil ones: and therefore he willed that adversity be brought upon blessed Job through no one but Satan, and on this account it is added, "the Lord therefore said to Satan: behold, all that he has is in your hand," that is, I hand it over to your power, "only put not forth your hand upon him." From which it is clearly given to understand that Satan can harm just men not as much as he wishes but as much as he is permitted. It must also be considered that the Lord did not command Satan to offend Job but only gave him power to do so, because the will to harm is present in every evil person from himself, but the power is only from God. It is clear, then, from what has been said, that this was the cause of blessed Job's adversity, that his virtue might be made manifest to all, whence it is also said of Tobias that the Lord permitted temptation to befall him for this reason, that an example of his patience might be given to posterity, as also of holy Job. It must be guarded against, however, that one should believe the Lord to have been induced by the words of Satan to permit Job to be afflicted, but he ordained this by an eternal disposition to manifest the virtue of Job against all the slanders of the wicked: and therefore the slander is set first and the divine permission follows. "And Satan went forth from the face of the Lord," etc. The cause of blessed Job's adversity having been set down, it is consequently shown how this adversity came upon him. And because it was all brought about through Satan, therefore it is said of him first, "and Satan went forth from the face of the Lord," as it were to use the power permitted to him. And it is pointedly said that "he went forth from the face of the Lord," for Satan, insofar as the power of harming someone is permitted to him, is before the face of the Lord, because this comes about by the reasonable will of God; but while he carries out the power permitted to him he goes forth from the face of the Lord, because he departs from the intention of the one permitting it — which appears in the case at hand: for it was permitted to him by God that he might be able to harm Job in order to manifest his virtue, but Satan did not afflict him for this reason, but in order to provoke him to impatience and blasphemy. At the same time it manifestly appears here to be true what we said above, that Satan was present among the sons of God standing before him according as some are said to stand before God insofar as they are subjected to the divine judgment and examination, not according as those are said to stand before God who see God: whence here too it is not said that Satan cast God from his own face, but that "he went forth from the face of the Lord," as it were departing from the intention of his providence, though not able to escape the order of providence. Now it must be considered that in the narrating of the adversity, an order contrary to that in which the prosperity was narrated is observed. For in the narrating of the prosperity, he proceeded from the greater things to the lesser, beginning from the person of Job himself, and after this he set down the offspring and then the animals, first the sheep and thereafter the rest: and this reasonably, because the perpetuity which cannot be preserved in the person is sought in the offspring, for whose sustenance possessions are needed. But in the adversity it is proposed the other way around: for first is narrated the loss of substance, second the oppression of the offspring, third the affliction of his own person, and this toward the increase of the adversity, for one who is oppressed by a greater adversity does not feel a lesser one, but the greater is felt after the lesser. And therefore, so that Job might feel his own affliction from each of the adversities in turn and thus be moved more to impatience, Satan began to afflict Job with the lesser adversity and proceeded gradually to the greater ones. It must also be considered that the mind of man is more disturbed by things which come suddenly, for adversities thought of beforehand are more easily borne; and therefore, so that Job might be more disturbed, at the time of greatest joy, when adversity could least be thought of, Satan brought adversity upon him, so that even from the very joy then present the adversity might appear the graver — for contraries placed next to one another shine forth the more. And therefore it is said, "now on a certain day, when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine" — which is set down especially as an indication of joy, according to Ecclesiasticus 31:35, "wine was created from the beginning for joy, not for drunkenness" — "in the house of their firstborn brother," which is also set down for the greater solemnity: for it is probable that a more solemn feast was celebrated in the house of the firstborn; "a messenger came to Job who said: the oxen were plowing," so that from the memory of the fruit the loss might appear the more unbearable; "and the she-asses were feeding beside them," which is also set down for the increase of grief, as he might consider that the enemies came upon them at the time when they could seize the most all at once; "and the Sabeans rushed in," namely enemies coming from far off, from whom what they had seized could not easily be recovered; "and took away everything," lest, if they had left anything, it might at least suffice for necessary use and for propagation; "and slew the servants with the sword," which was the more grievous to the just man; "and I alone escaped to tell you," as if to say: this happened by divine disposition so that I alone might escape, that you might have a messenger of so great a loss, as though God intended to afflict you with grief. Now this adversity having been announced, at once another is announced, lest, if some interval should occur, he might in the meantime return to himself and prepare himself for patience, and thus more easily sustain what followed; and on this account there is added, "and while he was yet speaking, another came and said: the fire of God" — that is, sent from God — "fell from heaven," so that it might be impressed, as it were, upon his mind that he was suffering persecution not only from men but also from God, and thus be more easily provoked against God; "and consumed the sheep and the servants that were touched by it," as though this were brought about by divine power, that immediately at the touch of the fire all things should be consumed, which is above the natural power of fire; "and I alone escaped to tell you." There follows: "but while he was yet speaking, another came and said: the Chaldeans," who were fierce and powerful; whence to show their power there is added, "made three troops," so that in this way neither vengeance nor recovery of the loss could be hoped for; concerning which loss there is added, "and fell upon the camels," etc. There follows the oppression of the offspring: "he was yet speaking, and behold another came in and said: while your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their firstborn brother" — so that from this their death might be the sadder, in that Job could be in doubt whether they had been overtaken by death in some state of sin: for he himself, for this reason, sanctified them and offered holocausts for each one, because he feared lest at the feasts they might have incurred some sin. And lest perhaps it might be believed that they had repented and provided for their souls, there is added, "suddenly a violent wind rushed in from the region of the desert and struck the four corners of the house," which is said to show the vehemence of the wind, which, contrary to custom, overturned the whole house at once, so that through this it might be shown to have proceeded from the divine will, and thus he might be more easily moved against God while being afflicted by him whom he had served with a devoted mind. And for the greater heaping up of grief there is added the loss of the slain offspring, when it is said, "and it fell and crushed your children, and they are dead" — namely all of them, lest even in some one of the children escaping there should remain hope of posterity. And this was believed to be the more sorrowful in that, with all the children slain, some one of the servants was able to escape to stir up grief, for there follows, "and I alone escaped to tell you." Now it must be considered that, since all the aforesaid adversity was brought about through Satan, it must be confessed that, God permitting it, Demons can bring about disturbance of the air, stir up winds, and cause fire to fall from heaven. For although corporeal matter does not obey the beck of Angels, neither good nor evil, for the reception of forms, but only the Creator God, nevertheless corporeal nature is naturally disposed to obey spiritual nature as to local motion; an indication of which appears in man, for the limbs are moved only at the command of the will, so as to carry out a work disposed by the will. Whatever things, then, can be brought about by local motion alone, these not only the good spirits but also the evil ones can do by their natural power, unless they are divinely prohibited; but winds and rains and other disturbances of the air of this kind can come about from the mere motion of vapors released from earth and water, whence the natural power of the Demon suffices to procure things of this kind; but sometimes they are prohibited from this by divine power, so that it is not permitted them to do everything they naturally can. Nor is this contrary to what is said in Jeremiah 14:22, "are there any among the idols of the nations that can send rain?" For it is one thing to rain by the natural course, which belongs to God alone, who ordained the natural causes for this; but it is another thing for the natural causes ordained by God for raining to be used artificially at times for rain, or a wind to be produced at times as it were extraordinarily. "Then Job arose," etc. The adversity of blessed Job having been enumerated, there is here treated the patience which he showed in adversity. Now it must be known, for the clarification of what is said here, that concerning bodily goods and concerning the passions of the soul there was a diverse opinion among the ancient philosophers. For the Stoics said that exterior goods are no goods of man at all, and that for their loss no sadness could be in the soul of the wise man; but the opinion of the Peripatetics was that exterior goods are indeed some goods of man, not indeed principal ones, but ordered as it were instrumentally to man's principal good, which is the good of the mind: and on this account they granted that the wise man might be moderately saddened at the loss of exterior goods, in such a way, namely, that reason not be so absorbed by sadness as to decline from rectitude. And this opinion is the truer one and agrees with ecclesiastical doctrine, as is clear through Augustine in the book On the City of God. Following this opinion, then, Job showed sadness indeed in adversity, yet so moderated that it was subject to reason, and therefore it is said that "then Job arose and rent his garment," which among men is wont to be an indication of sadness. Now it is to be noted that he says "then," namely after the death of his sons had been heard, so that he may seem to have grieved more over them than over the loss of his goods. For not to grieve over dead friends seems to be a mark of a hard and unfeeling heart, but it belongs to the virtuous man not to have this grief immoderate, according to the word of the Apostle, 1 Thessalonians 4:13, "we do not want you to be ignorant concerning those who sleep, that you not be saddened as also the rest who have no hope"; and this was the case in blessed Job, whence also the state of his mind appeared through an exterior act. For because his reason stood erect, it is fittingly said that "Job arose," although grieving men are more wont to be prostrated; but because he was suffering sadness, yet not one penetrating so as to disturb the innermost parts of reason, he showed a sign of sadness in exterior things as to two things, namely as to those things which are outside the nature of the body, whence it is said, "and he rent his garment," and as to those things which proceed from the nature of the body, whence it is said, "and having shaved his head," which among those who cultivate their hair is wont to be an indication of grief. Whence these two signs of sadness fittingly correspond to the aforementioned adversities, for the rending of the garment corresponds to the loss of goods, the shaving of the head to the loss of the sons. Now the mind stands erect at that time when it humbly submits itself to God: for each thing subsists in a greater height of nobility the more it is subject to that which perfects it, as air when it is subject to light, and matter when it is subject to form; that the mind of blessed Job, then, was not cast down by sadness but persisted in its own rectitude is manifested by this, that he humbly submitted himself to God, for there follows, "and falling upon the ground he worshipped," to show a mark of humility and devotion. And he declared the state of his mind not only by deeds but also by words; for he reasonably showed that, even though he was suffering sadness, he ought not to succumb to sadness. First indeed from the condition of nature, whence it is said, "and he said: naked I came forth from my mother's womb" — namely the earth, which is the common mother of all — "naked shall I return thither," that is, into the earth; and according to this manner it is said in Ecclesiasticus 40:1, "great occupation has been created for men, and a heavy yoke upon the sons of Adam, from the day of their coming forth from their mother's womb until the day of burial in the mother of all." It can also be understood otherwise, so that what is said, "from my mother's womb," be taken literally of the womb of the woman who bore him, but what is said, "naked shall I return thither," be understood such that this word "thither" makes a simple reference — for no one returns a second time into his mother's womb, but he returns into that state which he had in his mother's womb as regards a certain respect, namely as regards this, that he is alien from human converse. Saying this, then, he reasonably shows that on account of the loss of exterior goods a man ought not to be overwhelmed by sadness, because exterior goods are not connatural to him but come to him accidentally, which is clear from this, that man comes into this world without them and departs without them: whence, the accidental goods being taken away, if the substantial remains, a man ought not to be overcome by sadness even though sadness touch him. Second he shows the same thing from the divine operation, saying, "the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away," where first his true judgment concerning divine providence over human affairs is to be considered. For in that he said, "the Lord gave," he confessed that worldly prosperity comes to men not by chance, nor from the fate of the stars, nor from human effort alone, but from divine dispensation; but in that he says, "the Lord has taken away," he confesses also that worldly adversities come upon men by the judgment of divine providence. Now this brings it about that a man has no just complaint against God if he is despoiled of temporal goods, because he who gave freely was able to grant either until the end or for a time: whence, when he takes away temporal things from a man before the end, the man cannot complain. Third he shows the same thing from the good pleasure of the divine will, saying, "as it has pleased the Lord, so has it been done"; now it belongs to friends to will and not will the same thing: whence, if it proceeds from the divine good pleasure that someone be despoiled of temporal goods, if he loves God he ought to conform his own will to the divine will, so that by this consideration sadness may not overwhelm him. These three reasons, then, are set down in their due order: for in the first reason it is set down that temporal goods are extraneous to man, in the second that they are given and taken away from man by God, in the third that this happens according to the good pleasure of the divine will. Whence from the first reason it is concluded that man ought not to be overwhelmed by sadness on account of the loss of temporal goods, from the second that he cannot even complain, from the third that he ought even to rejoice. For it would not be pleasing to God that someone suffer adversity except on account of some good coming from it: whence adversity, although in itself it is bitter and generates sadness, ought nevertheless, from consideration of the benefit on account of which it pleases God, to be a source of joy, just as it is also said of the apostles, "the apostles went rejoicing," etc.; for one also rejoices in reason at the taking of a bitter medicine on account of the hope of health, although he is disturbed in sense. And because joy is the matter of thanksgiving, he therefore concludes this third reason in an act of thanksgiving, saying, "blessed be the name of the Lord." Now the name of the Lord is blessed by men insofar as they have knowledge of his goodness, namely that he dispenses all things well and does nothing unjustly. Thus, then, the innocence of Job is concluded when it is said, "in all these things Job did not sin with his lips," namely by expressing through words an impatient impulse, "nor did he speak anything foolish against God," that is, blasphemous, namely so as to blaspheme concerning divine providence: for folly is opposed to wisdom, which is properly the knowledge of divine things.”

“The devil had done all he desired leave to do against Job, to provoke him to curse God. He had touched all he had, touched it with a witness; he whom the rising sun saw the richest of all the men in the east was before night poor to a proverb. If his riches had been, as Satan insinuated, the only principle of his religion now that he had lost his riches he would certainly have lost his religion; but the account we have, in these verses, of his pious deportment under his affliction, sufficiently proved the devil a liar and Job an honest man. I. He conducted himself like a man under his afflictions, not stupid and senseless, like a stock or stone, not unnatural and unaffected at the death of his children and servants; no (Job 1:20), he arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, which were the usual expressions of great sorrow, to show that he was sensible of the hand of the Lord that had gone out against him; yet he did not break out into any indecencies, nor discover any extravagant passion. He did not faint away, but arose, as a champion to the combat; he did not, in a heat, throw off his clothes, but very gravely, in conformity to the custom of the country, rent his mantle, his cloak, or outer garment; he did not passionately tear his hair, but deliberately shaved his head. By all this it appeared that he kept his temper, and bravely maintained the possession and repose of his own soul, in the midst of all these provocations. The time when he began to show his feelings is observable; it was not till he heard of the death of his children, and then he arose, then he rent his mantle. A worldly unbelieving heart would have said, "Now that the meat is gone it is well that the mouths are gone too; now that there are no portions it is well that there are no children:" but Job knew better, and would have been thankful if Providence had spared his children, though he had little of nothing for them, for Jehovah-jireh - the Lord will provide. Some expositors, remembering that it was usual with the Jews to rend their clothes when they heard blasphemy, conjecture that Job rent his clothes in a holy indignation at the blasphemous thoughts which Satan now cast into his mind, tempting him to curse God. II. He conducted himself like a wise and good man under his affliction, like a perfect and upright man, and one that feared God and eschewed the evil of sin more than that of outward trouble. 1. He humbled himself under the hand of God, and accommodated himself to the providences he was under, as one that knew how to want as well as how to abound. When God called to weeping and mourning he wept and mourned, rent his mantle and shaved his head; and, as one that abased himself even to the dust before God, he fell down upon the ground, in a penitent sense of sin and a patient submission to the will of God, accepting the punishment of his iniquity. Hereby he showed his sincerity; for hypocrites cry not when God binds them, Job 36:13. Hereby he prepared himself to get good by the affliction; for how can we improve the grief which we will not feel? 2. He composed himself with quieting considerations, that he might not be disturbed and put out of the possession of his own soul by these events. He reasons from the common state of human life, which he describes with application to himself: Naked came I (as others do) out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither, into the lap of our common mother - the earth, as the child, when it is sick or weary, lays its head in its mother's bosom. Dust we were in our original, and to dust we return in our exit (Gen 3:19), to the earth as we were (Ecc 12:7), naked shall we return thither, whence we were taken, namely, to the clay, Job 33:6. St. Paul refers to this of Job, Ti1 6:7. We brought nothing of this world's goods into the world, but have them from others; and it is certain that we can carry nothing out, but must leave them to others. We come into the world naked, not only unarmed, but unclothed, helpless, shiftless, not so well covered and fenced as other creatures. The sin we are born in makes us naked, to our shame, in the eyes of the holy God. We go out of the world naked; the body does, though the sanctified soul goes clothed, Co2 5:3. Death strips us of all our enjoyments; clothing can neither warm nor adorn a dead body. This consideration silenced Job under all his losses. (1.) He is but where he was at first. He looks upon himself only as naked, not maimed, not wounded; he was himself still his own man, when nothing else was his own, and therefore but reduced to his first condition. Nemo tam pauper potest esse quam natus est - no one can be so poor as he was when born. - Min. Felix. If we are impoverished, we are not wronged, nor much hurt, for we are but as we were born. (2.) He is but where he must have been at last, and is only unclothed, or unloaded rather, a little sooner than he expected. If we put off our clothes before we go to bed, it is some inconvenience, but it may be the better borne when it is near bed-time. 3. He gave glory to God, and expressed himself upon this occasion with a great veneration for the divine Providence, and a meek submission to its disposals. We may well rejoice to find Job in this good frame, because this was the very thing upon which the trial of his integrity was put, though he did not know it. The devil said that he would, under his affliction, curse God; but he blessed him, and so proved himself an honest man. (1.) He acknowledged the hand of God both in the mercies he had formerly enjoyed and in the afflictions he was now exercised with: The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. We must own the divine Providence, [1.] In all our comforts. God gave us our being, made us, and not we ourselves, gave us our wealth; it was not our own ingenuity or industry that enriched us, but God's blessing on our cares and endeavours. He gave us power to get wealth, not only made the creatures for us, but bestowed upon us our share. [2.] In all our crosses. The same that gave hath taken away; and may he not do what he will with his own? See how Job looks above instruments, and keeps his eye upon the first Cause. He does not say, "The Lord gave, and the Sabeans and Chaldeans have taken away; God made me rich, and the devil has made me poor;" but, "He that gave has taken;" and for that reason he is dumb, and has nothing to say, because God did it. He that gave all may take what, and when, and how much he pleases. Seneca could argue thus, Abstulit, sed et dedit - he took away, but he also gave; and Epictetus excellently (cap. 15), "When thou art deprived of any comfort, suppose a child taken away by death, or a part of thy estate lost, say not apōlesa auto - I have lost it; but apedōka - I have restored it to the right owner; but thou wilt object (says he), kakos ho aphelomenos - he is a bad man that has robbed me; to which he answers, ti de soi melei - What is it to thee by what hand he that gives remands what he gave?" (2.) He adored God in both. When all was gone he fell down and worshipped. Note, Afflictions must not divert us from, but quicken us to, the exercises of religion. Weeping must not hinder sowing, nor hinder worshipping. He eyed not only the hand of God, but the name of God, in his afflictions, and gave glory to that: Blessed be the name of the Lord. He has still the same great and good thoughts of God that ever he had, and is as forward as ever to speak them forth to his praise; he can find in his heart to bless God even when he takes away as well as when he gives. Thus must we sing both of mercy and judgment, Psa 101:1. [1.] He blesses God for what was given, though now it was taken away. When our comforts are removed from us we must thank God that ever we had them and had them so much longer than we deserved. Nay, [2.] He adores God even in taking away, and gives him honour by a willing submission; nay, he gives him thanks for good designed him by his afflictions, for gracious supports under his afflictions, and the believing hopes he had of a happy issue at last. Lastly, Here is the honourable testimony which the Holy Ghost gives to Job's constancy and good conduct under his afflictions. He passed his trials with applause, Job 1:22. In all this Job did not act amiss, for he did not attribute folly to God, nor in the least reflect upon his wisdom in what he had done. Discontent and impatience do in effect charge God with folly. Against the workings of these therefore Job carefully watched; and so must we, acknowledging that as God has done right, but we have done wickedly, so God has done wisely, but we have done foolishly, very foolishly. Those who not only keep their temper under crosses and provocations, but keep up good thoughts of God and sweet communion with him, whether their praise be of men or no, it will be of God, as Job's here was.”

“Then Job arose,.... Either from table, being at dinner, as some think, in his own house; it being the time that his children were feasting in their eldest brother's house; or from the business in which he was employed, which he stopped on hearing this news; or from his seat, or chair of state in which he sat; or rather the phrase only signifies, that he at once, with strength of body, and rigour of mind, which were not lost, as often they are in such cases, went about the following things with great composure and sedateness. It is indeed generally observed, that there is an emphasis to be put on the word "then", which may be as well rendered "and", as if Job sat and heard very sedately, without any perturbation of mind, the loss of his substance; but when tidings were brought him of the death of his children, "then" he arose, as being greatly moved and distressed; but it should be observed till now there was no stop or intermission in the messengers, but before one had done speaking, another came and began to tell his story, and so there was no opportunity, as well as not the occasion, of arising and doing what follows; and which he did, not through the violence of his passion, or excess of grief, but as common and ordinary things, which were used to be done in that country for the loss of relations, and in token of mourning for them: and rent his mantle; or "cloak" (k), as Mr. Broughton; but whether this was an outward garment, as each of these seem to be, if the same with ours, or an interior one, as some think, it is not very material to know; both were rent by Ezra upon a mournful occasion, Ezr 9:3, and it was usual to rend garments for deceased relations, or when they were thought to be so, see Gen 37:29, though some think that this was on the account of the blasphemous thoughts the devil now suggested into his mind, being solicitous to gain his point, and work upon him to curse God; upon which he rent his garment to show his resentment and indignation at the thought of it, as the Jews used to rend their garments at hearing of blasphemy; but the first sense is best: and shaved his beard; either he himself, or his servant by his orders; and which was done among the eastern nations as a sign of mourning, see Isa 15:2 and among the Greeks, as appears from Homer (l); nor was this contrary to the law in Deu 14:1, where another baldness, not of the head, but between the eyes, is forbidden for the dead; besides this was before that law was in being, and, had it been, Job was not bound by it, being not of the Israelitish nation: some, as Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and other Jewish writers, interpret this of his plucking or tearing off the hair of his head; but this neither agrees with the sense of the word here used, which has the signification of shearing or mowing, rather than of tearing or plucking, nor with the firmness and composure of Job's mind, who betrayed not any effeminacy or weakness; and though he showed a natural affection for the loss of his substance, and children, as a man, and did not affect a stoical apathy, and brutal insensibility, yet did not give any extraordinary vent to his passion: he behaved both like a man, and a religious man; he mourned for his dead, but not to excess; he sorrowed not as those without hope, and used the common tokens of it, and rites attending it; which shows that mourning for deceased relations, if done in moderation, is not unlawful, nor complying with the rites and customs of a country, in such cases, provided they are not sinful in themselves, nor contrary to the revealed and declared will of God: and fell down upon the ground; in veneration of God, of his holiness and justice, and as sensible of his awful hand upon him, and as being humbled under it, and patiently submitting to it; he did not stand up, and curse God to his face, as Satan said he would, but fell upon his face to the ground; he did not curse his King and his God, and look upwards, see Isa 8:21 but prostrated himself to the earth in great humility before him; besides, this may be considered as a prayer gesture, since it follows: and worshipped; that is, God, for who else should he worship? he worshipped him internally in the exercise of faith, hope, love, humility, patience, &c. and he worshipped him externally by praising him, and praying to him, expressing himself as in the next verse: afflictions, when sanctified, humble good men, cause them to lie low in the dust, and bring them near to God, to the throne of his grace, and instead of arraigning his providence, and finding fault with his dealings, they adore his majesty, and celebrate his perfections. (k) "pallium suum", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schultens; "tunicam suam", Munster, Cocceius, Schmidt, Jo. Henric. Michaelis. (l) , &c. Odyss. 4. ver. 198. & Odyss. 24. ver. 46.”

“Job arose--not necessarily from sitting. Inward excitement is implied, and the beginning to do anything. He had heard the other messages calmly, but on hearing of the death of his children, then he arose; or, as EICHORN translates, he started up (Sa2 13:31). The rending of the mantle was the conventional mark of deep grief (Gen 37:34). Orientals wear a tunic or shirt, and loose pantaloons; and over these a flowing mantle (especially great persons and women). Shaving the head was also usual in grief (Jer 41:5; Mic 1:16).”

“The Conduct of Job: 20, 21 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: Jehovah gave, and Jehovah hath taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah. The first three messengers Job has heard, sitting, and in silence; but at the news of the death of his children, brought by the fourth, he can no longer overcome his grief. The intensity of his feeling is indicated by rising up (cf. Jon 3:6); his torn heart, by the rending of his mantle; the conscious loss of his dearest ones, by cutting off the hair of his head. He does not, however, act like one in despair, but, humbling himself under the mighty hand of God, falls to the ground and prostrates himself, i.e., worshipping God, so that his face touches the earth. השׁתּחוה, se prosternere, this is the gesture of adoration, προσκήνησις. (Note: Vid., Hlemann's Abh. ber die biblische Gestaltung der Anbetung, in his Bibelstudien, Abth. 1 (1859).) יצתי is defectively written, as Num 11:11; cf. infra, Job 32:18. The occurrence of שׁמּה here is remarkable, and may have given rise to the question of Nicodemus, Joh 3:4 : μὴ δύναται ἄνθρωπος εἰς τῆν κοιλίαν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ δεύτερον εἰσελθεῖν. The writer of Ecclesiastes (Ecc 5:14) has left out this difficult שׁמה. It means either being put back into a state of unconsciousness and seclusion from the light and turmoil of this world, similar to his former state in his mother's womb, which Hupfeld, in his Commentatio in quosdam Iobeidos locos, 1853, favours; or, since the idea of אמּי בּטן may be extended, return to the bosom of mother earth (Ew., Hirz., Schlottm., et al.), so that שׁמה is not so much retrospective as rather prospective with reference to the grave (Bttch.), which we prefer; for as the mother's bosom can be compared to the bosom of the earth (Psa 139:15), because it is of the earth, and recalls the original forming of man from the earth, so the bosom of the earth is compared to the mother's, Sir. 40:1: ἀφ ̓ ἡμέρας ἐξόδου ἐκ γαστρὸς μητρὸς ἕως ἡμέρας ἐπιταφῆς εἰς μητέρα πάντων. The writer here intentionally makes Job call God יהוה. In the dialogue portion, the name יהוה occurs only once in the mouth of Job (Job 12:9); most frequently the speakers use אלוה and שׁדי. This use of the names of God corresponds to the early use of the same in the Pentateuch, according to which שׁדי is the proper name of God in the patriarchal days, and יהוה in the later days, to which they were preparatory. The traditional view, that Elohim describes God according to the attribute of justice, Jehovah according to the attribute of mercy, is only in part correct; for even when the advent of God to judgment is announced, He is in general named Jehovah. Rather, אלהים (plur. of אלוהּ, fear), the Revered One, describes God as object; יהוה or יהוה, on the other hand, as subject. אלהים describes Him in the fulness of His glorious majesty, including also the spirits, which are round about Him; יהוה as the Absolute One. Accordingly, Job, when he says יהוה, thinks of God not only as the absolute cause of his fate, but as the Being ordering his life according to His own counsel, who is ever worthy of praise, whether in His infinite wisdom He gives or takes away. Job was not driven from God, but praised Him in the midst of suffering, even when, to human understanding and feeling, there was only occasion for anguish: he destroyed the suspicion of Satan, that he only feared God for the sake of His gifts, not for His own sake; and remained, in the midst of a fourfold temptation, the conqueror. (Note: In Oliver Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield (vid., Jul. Hamberger, Gott und seine Offenbarung, S. 71), there is much that reminds one of the book of Job, especially the repeated misfortunes which befall the worthy clergyman, his submission under all, and the issue which counterbalances his misfortune. But what is copied from the book of Job appears to be only superficial, not to come from the depth of the spiritual life.) Throughout the whole book he does not go so far as to deny God (אלהים בּרך), and thus far he does not fall into any unworthy utterances concerning His rule.”