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of entanglement), what then did the man do? Did he say anything ignoble and fainthearted either in word or show by his gesture, or scratching his cheeks with his fingernails, or pulling out the hairs of his head, or sprinkling dust on himself, or beating his breast with his hands, or throwing himself to the ground, or gathering mourners around himself, or calling out the names of the departed and wailing at their memory? None of these things. But while the messenger of evils related the disaster concerning his children, he heard and at once philosophized about the nature of things that exist, saying whence things are and by whom they are brought into being and who it is fitting should preside over them: The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. From God, he says, is the origin of men, 9.471 and to him is their return; from whence a thing is brought forth, to that it is also returned. God, therefore, who has the authority to give, he himself also has the authority to take away; being good he wills good things, being wise he knows what is advantageous. As it seemed good to the Lord (and it seemed entirely good), so also it was done; Blessed be the name of the Lord. Do you see how great is the loftiness of the athlete's genius? He transformed the time of affliction into an examination of the philosophy concerning existing things. For he knew accurately that true life is laid up through hope, but the present life is like a seed of the one to come. And the things hoped for differ much from the present things, as much as the ear of grain differs from the seed from which it grows. The present life is analogous to the seed, but the life hoped for is shown in the beauty of the ear of grain; For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. Looking to these things, Job rejoices with his children for their good fortune, as having been more quickly released from the bonds of this life.

And a proof is that when the promise of God pledged double for all that was taken away, while the recompense was doubled in all other things, he did not seek a doubling of the children alone, but only ten were given in place of those taken away. But since the souls of men endure forever, for this reason he receives double recompense for the things that perish, but in the case of his children, those born after are counted together with those born before, as all are living to God, and temporal death in no way prevents the departed from 9.472 existing. For death in men is nothing else, if not a purification of evil. For since in the beginning our nature was fashioned by the God of all as a kind of vessel receptive of good things, but when the enemy of our souls through deceit poured evil into us, the good had no place, for this reason, so that the evil ingrained in us might not be eternal, by a better providence the vessel is dissolved by death for a time, so that, with the evil having flowed out, the human may be refashioned and, unmixed with evil, be restored to its original life. For this is the resurrection, the re-composition of our nature to its ancient state. If, therefore, it is impossible for our nature to be recomposed to the better state without a resurrection, and a resurrection cannot happen unless death has preceded it, then death would be a good thing, having become for us a beginning and a path of transformation to the better. Therefore, brothers, let us cast out the grief concerning those who have fallen asleep, which only those who have no hope endure. And our hope is Christ; to whom be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

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συμπλοκῆς), τί οὖν ἐποίησεν ὁ ἀνήρ; ἆρά τι δυσγενὲς καὶ μικρόψυχον ἢ εἶπε τῷ ῥήματι ἢ διὰ σχήματος ἐνεδείξατο ἢ παρειὰν ἀμύξας τοῖς ὄνυξιν ἢ τρίχας τῆς κεφαλῆς ἀποτίλας ἢ κόνιν καταπασάμενος ἢ τὰ στήθη ταῖς χερσὶ μαστιγώσας ἢ ἐπὶ γῆν ἑαυτὸν ῥίψας ἢ θρηνῳδοὺς ἑαυτῷ περιστήσας ἢ ἀνακαλῶν τὰ τῶν κατοιχομένων ὀνόματα καὶ ἐποιμώζων τῇ μνήμῃ; οὐκ ἔστι τούτων οὐδέν. ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν τῶν κακῶν μηνυτὴς τὴν κατὰ τοὺς παῖδας συμφορὰν διηγήσατο, ὁ δὲ ὁμοῦ τε ἤκουσε καὶ εὐθὺς περὶ τῆς τῶν ὄντων ἐφιλοσόφει φύσεως, πόθεν τὰ ὄντα λέγων καὶ παρὰ τίνος εἰς γένεσιν ἄγεται καὶ τίνα εἰκὸς τῶν ὄντων ἐπιστατεῖν· Ὁ κύριος ἔδωκεν, ὁ κύριος ἀφείλετο. ἐκ θεοῦ, φησί, τοῖς ἀνθρώποις 9.471 ἡ γένεσις, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ ἀνάλυσις· ὅθεν παρῆκται, πρὸς ἐκεῖνο καὶ ἀναλύεται. θεὸς οὖν ὁ τοῦ διδόναι τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἔχων, ὁ αὐτὸς ἔχει καὶ τοῦ ἀφαιρεῖσθαι τὴν ἐξουσίαν· ἀγαθὸς ὢν ἀγαθὰ βουλεύεται, σοφὸς ὢν τὸ συμφέρον ἐπίσταται. Ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ ἔδοξεν (ἔδοξε δὲ πάντως καλῶς), οὕτως καὶ ἐποίησεν· Εἴη τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου εὐλογημένον. Ὁρᾷς πόσον τὸ ὕψος τῆς τοῦ ἀθλητοῦ μεγαλοφυΐας· τὸν τῆς θλίψεως καιρὸν εἰς ἐπίσκεψιν τῆς περὶ τῶν ὄντων φιλοσοφίας μετέστησεν. ᾔδει γὰρ ἀκριβῶς, ὅτι ἡ ὄντως ζωὴ δι' ἐλπίδος ἀπόκειται, ἡ δὲ παροῦσα ζωὴ οἱονεὶ σπέρμα τῆς μελλούσης ἐστίν. πολὺ δὲ διενήνοχε τῶν παρόντων τὰ προσδοκώμενα, ὅσον διαφέρει ὁ στάχυς τοῦ κόκκου ὅθεν ἐκφύεται. ὁ νῦν βίος ἀναλογεῖ πρὸς τὸν κόκκον, ὁ δὲ προσδοκώμενος βίος ἐν τῷ κάλλει τοῦ στάχυος δείκνυται· ∆εῖ γὰρ τὸ φθαρτὸν τοῦτο ἐνδύσασθαι ἀφθαρσίαν, καὶ τὸ θνητὸν τοῦτο ἐνδύσασθαι ἀθανασίαν. πρὸς ταῦτα βλέπων ὁ Ἰὼβ συγχαίρει τοῖς τέκνοις τῆς εὐκληρίας, ὡς θᾶττον ἐκλυθεῖσι τῶν τοῦ βίου δεσμῶν.

Τεκμήριον δὲ ὅτι τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τοῦ θεοῦ τὸ διπλάσιον ἀντὶ τῶν ἀφαιρεθέντων πάντων ὑποσχομένης, ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασι διπλασιασθείσης τῆς ἀντιδόσεως, μόνων τῶν τέκνων τὸν διπλασιασμὸν οὐκ ἐζήτησεν, ἀλλὰ δέκα μόνα ἀντὶ τῶν ἀφαιρεθέντων δέδοται. ἐπειδὴ δὲ αἱ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχαὶ εἰς ἀεὶ διαμένουσιν, τούτου χάριν τῶν ἀπολλυμένων διπλασίαν δέχεται τὴν ἀντίδοσιν, ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν τέκνων τὰ ἐπιγενόμενα τοῖς προγεννηθεῖσι συναριθμεῖται ὡς πάντων τῷ θεῷ ζώντων, καὶ οὐδὲν τοῦ προσκαίρου θανάτου τοὺς κατοιχομένους πρὸς 9.472 τὸ εἶναι κωλύοντος. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄλλο τί ἐστιν ἐπ' ἀνθρώπων ὁ θάνατος, εἰ μὴ κακίας καθάρσιον. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οἷόν τι σκεῦος ἀγαθῶν δεκτικὸν τὸ κατ' ἀρχὰς ἡ φύσις ἡμῶν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων κατεσκευάσθη, τοῦ δὲ ἐχθροῦ τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν δι' ἀπάτης ἡμῖν τὸ κακὸν παρεγχέαντος τὸ ἀγαθὸν χώραν οὐκ ἔσχεν, τούτου ἕνεκεν, ὡς ἂν μὴ διαιωνίζοι ἡμῖν ἡ ἐμφυεῖσα κακία, προνοίᾳ κρείττονι θανάτῳ τὸ σκεῦος πρὸς καιρὸν διαλύεται, ἵνα τῆς κακίας ἐκρυείσης ἀναπλασθῇ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον καὶ ἀμιγὲς κακίας τῷ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀποκαταστῇ βίῳ. τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἀνάστασις, ἡ εἰς τὸ ἀρχαῖον τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν ἀναστοιχείωσις. εἰ οὖν ἀμήχανόν ἐστιν ἀναστοιχειωθῆναι πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον τὴν φύσιν χωρὶς ἀναστάσεως, θανάτου δὲ μὴ προηγησαμένου ἀνάστασις γενέσθαι οὐ δύναται, ἀγαθὸν ἂν εἴη ὁ θάνατος, ἀρχὴ καὶ ὁδὸς τῆς πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον μεταβολῆς ἡμῖν γενόμενος. οὐκοῦν ἐκβάλωμεν, ἀδελφοί, τὴν λύπην τὴν περὶ τῶν κεκοιμημένων, ἣν μόνοι ὑπομένουσιν οἱ μὴ ἔχοντες ἐλπίδα. ἐλπὶς δέ ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός· ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ἀμήν.