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you cast out beings, leading them down to extreme worthlessness, and making what is common your own? But the blessed Job was not such a man, which is why he said: I did not 64.517 despise the judgment of a male or female servant; for this reason the writer, calling him just, presents him, not as having partial justice, that which is in transactions and lawsuits, but as having virtue as a whole, according to him of whom it is written, For the just, no law is set. And he adds that he was also God-fearing, to show that he was perfect both in things concerning men and in things concerning God; for justice is towards men, and piety is towards God. See, then, the virtues follow one another, and they hold one another together; for a good life makes one know God, and the knowledge of God becomes the guardian of one's life. Therefore Job, since he was just, was for this reason also God-fearing; and since he always had God before his eyes, for this reason he pursued justice justly, for its own sake, and not for anything else; but it is not possible to become just without first becoming blameless. For these reasons, the true man comes first, he who does not wear a mask and a pretense of reverence, but pursues virtue in truth and in deed, and is formed according to it; and after this comes the blameless man; for the genuine worker of virtue is on his guard even against things that seem small; and again, after him follows the one who is paronymously named just from perfect justice, the one who is complete in every form of virtue; then after these the God-fearing man enters more illustriously, excelling in good works and right doctrines together; to these is added, abstaining from every evil thing, which itself leaves no room for exaggeration; for it is not said that he abstained from this evil, but not from that, or that he had mastery over many things but was mastered by a few, but that he did not wish to touch any wickedness at all. However, abstinence from evil things is not enough, but there must also be the practice of good things; for idleness in virtue can bring about punishment, not only the practice of wickedness. Since even those who did not feed the hungry, because they did not practice almsgiving, for this reason are delivered to immortal punishment. From which we learn that abstaining from evil is not the beginning of our salvation, unless there is also the acquisition of good things and the practice of virtue. But behold for me how in a few words the law of the divine Spirit summed up the praise of the man, calling Job true in his making, as if enrolling this as his fatherland and ancestors, and blameless in his action, just according to good law and the community of his possessions, and still in passing right judgments on those being judged, and the authority of all, God-fearing in his faith and his hatred for idols, abstaining from every evil thing according to his most fervent enmity for evil things. And to speak concisely, he says, he never 64.520 did anything worthy of blame, but he also kept what was just towards men, and he pursued matters of religion purely, doing all things according to God, and genuinely revering the Divine. "And he had seven sons and three daughters." First it spoke of his virtue, and then the things given by God. For of old these things came from virtue, I mean, having good children and having many children; For there shall not be, it says, a barren man or a barren woman in your land. But Abraham was childless for this reason, that you might learn that these are not truly the rewards of virtue, but others are; but for this reason he promised these things in condescension. And we conclude that marriage is no obstacle to virtue; for otherwise it would have been a hindrance to Job also. But indeed this bond did not prevent the just man from running rightly, so that some make this an excuse in vain. "And his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys pasturing, and a very great household, and he had great works upon the earth." See, then, the wealth

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ἐκβάλλεις οὐσίας, εἰς ἐσχάτην εὐτέλειαν κατάγων, καὶ τὸ κοινὸν ἰδιοποιούμενος; Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ μακάριος Ἰὼβ τοιοῦτος, διὸ καὶ ἔλεγεν· Οὐκ 64.517 ἐφαύλισα κρῖμα θεράποντος ἢ θεραπαίνης· διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ συγγραφεὺς δίκαιον αὐτὸν λέγων, παρίστησιν, οὐ τὴν μερικὴν δικαιοσύνην, τὴν ἐν συναλλάγμασι καὶ δίκαις, ἀλλὰ τὴν καθόλου ἀρετὴν ἔχοντα, κατ' ἐκεῖνον περὶ οὗ γέγραπται, Τῷ δικαίῳ νόμος οὐ κεῖται. Ἐπάγει δὲ ὅτι καὶ θεοσεβὴς, ἵνα δείξῃ ὅτι καὶ τὰ πρὸς ἀνθρώπους, καὶ τὰ πρὸς Θεὸν τέλειος ἦν· ἡ μὲν γὰρ δικαιοσύνη πρὸς ἀνθρώπους, ἡ δὲ θεοσέβεια πρὸς Θεόν. Ὅρα δὲ, ἀντακολουθοῦσιν ἀλλήλαις αἱ ἀρεταὶ, καὶ συγκροτοῦσιν ἀλλήλας· βίος γὰρ καλὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἐπιγνῶναι ποιεῖ, καὶ ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ γνῶσις, τοῦ βίου γίνεται φυλακή. Ὅθεν καὶ ὁ Ἰὼβ, ἐπειδὴ δίκαιος, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ θεοσεβής· καὶ ἐπειδὴ πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ἀεὶ τὸν Θεὸν εἶχε, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸ δίκαιον δικαίως ἐδίωκε, δι' αὐτὸ τὸ καλὸν, καὶ οὐ δι' ἕτερόν τι· οὐκ ἔστι δὲ δίκαιον γενέσθαι μὴ πρότερον γενόμενον ἄμεμπτον. ∆ιὰ ταῦτα προηγεῖται μὲν ὁ ἀληθινὸς ἄνθρωπος, ὁ μὴ πλάσμα καὶ σκηνὴν τῆς εὐλαβείας περικείμενος, ἀλλ' ἀληθείᾳ καὶ πράγματι τὴν ἀρετὴν μετερχόμενος, καὶ κατ' αὐτὴν μορφαζόμενος· ἕπεται δὲ τούτῳ, ὁ ἄμεμπτος· ὁ γὰρ γνήσιος ἐργάτης τῆς ἀρετῆς, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν μικρῶν δοκούντων φυλάττεται· ἐκείνῳ δὲ πάλιν ἀκολουθεῖ ὁ παρωνύμως ἀπὸ τῆς τελείας δικαιοσύνης ὀνομαζόμενος δίκαιος, ὁ κατὰ πᾶν εἶδος ἀρετῆς ἀπηρτισμένος· εἶτα ὁ θεοσεβὴς μετὰ τούτους λαμπρότερος ἐπεισέρχεται, ἔργοις ὁμοῦ ἀγαθοῖς καὶ δόγμασιν ὀρθοῖς διαπρέπων· τούτοις ἐπάγεται τὸ, ἀπεχόμενος ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ πράγματος, ὃ καὶ αὐτὸ οὐδεμίαν ὑπερβολὴν καταλείπει· οὐ γὰρ εἴρηται, ὅτι τοῦδε μὲν τοῦ φαύλου ἀπείχετο, τοῦ δὲ οὒ, ἢ πολλῶν μὲν ἐκράτει, ὑπὸ ὀλίγων δὲ ἐκρατεῖτο, ἀλλ' οὐδεμιᾶς πονηρίας θιγγάνειν ἤθελε. Οὐκ ἀρκεῖ μέντοι μόνον ἡ ἀποχὴ τῶν κακῶν, ἀλλὰ δεῖ προσεῖναι καὶ τὴν ἐργασίαν τῶν ἀγαθῶν· καὶ γὰρ ἡ ἀργία τῆς ἀρετῆς, κόλασιν οἶδε προξενεῖν, οὐχ ἡ ἐργασία τῆς πονηρίας μόνον. Ἐπεὶ κἀκεῖνοι, οἱ πεινῶντα μὴ θρέψαντες, ἐπειδὴ ἐλεημοσύνην οὐκ εἰργάσαντο, διὰ τοῦτο τῇ ἀθανάτῳ παραδίδονται κολάσει. Ὅθεν μανθάνομεν ὅτι οὐ τὸ ἀπέχεσθαι κακῶν, ἀρχὴ σωτηρίας ἡμῖν, ἐὰν μὴ προσῇ καὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἡ κτῆσις, καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἡ ἐργασία. Σὺ δέ μοι θέα πῶς ἐν ὀλίγῳ τὸν ἔπαινον τοῦ ἀνδρὸς, ὁ τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος συνήγαγε νόμος, ἀληθινὸν μὲν εἰπὼν τὸν Ἰὼβ κατὰ τὴν δημιουργίαν, ὥσπερ πατρίδα ταύτην καὶ προγόνους ἀπογραφόμενος, ἄμεμπτον δὲ κατὰ τὴν πρᾶξιν, δίκαιον κατὰ τὴν εὐνομίαν, καὶ τὴν τῶν ὄντων αὐτῷ κοινωνίαν, καὶ ἔτι κατὰ τὸ ὀρθὰς τὰς ψήφους ἐπὶ τοῖς κρινομένοις ἐκφέρειν, καὶ τὸ κῦρος πάντων, θεοσεβῆ κατὰ τὴν πίστιν, καὶ τὸ πρὸς τὰ εἴδωλα μῖσος, ἀπεχόμενον ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ πράγματος κατὰ τὴν τῶν πονηρῶν θερμοτάτην ἀπέχθειαν. Καὶ ἵνα συνελὼν εἴπω, οὐδὲν, φησὶ, 64.520 πώποτε μέμψεως ἄξιον διεπράξατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ πρὸς ἀνθρώπους ἐφύλαττε δίκαια, καὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν θρησκείαν μετῄει καθαρῶς, πάντα κατὰ Θεὸν πράττων, καὶ γνησίως εὐσεβῶν τὸ Θεῖον. «Ἐγένοντο δὲ αὐτῷ υἱοὶ ἑπτὰ, καὶ θυγατέρες τρεῖς.» Πρῶτον εἶπε τὴν ἀρετὴν, καὶ τότε τὰ παρὰ Θεοῦ δεδομένα. Ἐξ ἀρετῆς γὰρ πάλαι ταῦτα ἐγένετο, εὐπαιδία, λέγω, καὶ πολυπαιδία· Οὐκ ἔσται γὰρ ἐν σοὶ, φησὶν, ἄγονος, οὐδὲ στεῖρα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς σου. Ὁ δὲ Ἀβραὰμ διὰ τοῦτο ἄγονος ἦν, ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι οὐ ταῦτα ὄντως ἀρετῆς ἔπαθλα, ἀλλ' ἕτερα· διὰ δὲ τοῦτο ταῦτα ὑπέσχετο συγκαταβαίνων. Συνάγομεν δὲ, ὅτι οὐδὲν ὁ γάμος ἐμπόδιον πρὸς ἀρετήν· ἦ γὰρ ἂν καὶ τῷ Ἰὼβ ἐγένετο κώλυμα. Ἀλλὰ μὴν ὁ δεσμὸς οὗτος, τὸν δίκαιον τρέχειν ὀρθῶς οὐκ ἐκώλυσεν, ὥστε καὶ τοῦτο μάτην τινὲς προφασίζονται. «Καὶ ἦν τὰ κτήνη αὐτοῦ πρόβατα ἑπτακισχίλια, κάμηλοι τρισχίλιαι, ζεύγη βοῶν πεντακόσια, ὄνοι θήλειαι νομάδες πεντακόσιαι, καὶ ὑπηρεσία πολλὴ σφόδρα, καὶ ἔργα μεγάλα ἦν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.» Ὅρα λοιπὸν πλοῦτον