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with them. Preliminary view of the chapter. The common sinner of men, the devil, not bearing the just man's valor in virtues, but also not having any authority over us, seeing that he did not even have it over pigs unless he received it from the Savior, slanders the just man to God as one not pursuing justice for the sake of virtue, but as offering a return to God for the good things He did for him, since he says: "take away his prosperity and you will see the worthlessness of his character; for with the removal of his possessions he will bring forth blasphemy against you to your face." At this, God, knowing the courage in the soul of the just man, and wishing to proclaim him more splendidly through contests, gives the devil authority over Job's property. And he attacked him so with the loss of his possessions, as to cut off all his property exactly, and to leave only messengers of the disasters, striking him with successive and most bitter reports. And since the most precious possessions of fathers happen to be their children, the devil, taking the best ten of the children feasting together, suddenly shook the house down upon them all, and made the house their common tomb 14, making the father of many children childless in a single turn of a moment. Then that man of adamant, Job, paying his debt to nature, tore his garment; and he also sheared his hair in mourning. But he utters nothing ignoble or unworthy of his own magnanimity, but at the same time as the last and greatest blow he let out those much-praised words: "the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it seemed good to the Lord, so also it has happened, may the name of the Lord be blessed." The devil, having received the most critical blows by these words, and especially through God's praises for the just man, is not ashamed (for the beast is shameless), but adds the contest against the skin of the just man, and asks God to receive authority to deal with the body of Job. Again, the man-loving God, wishing to make his own champions public to angels and men, permits this also. And when the man had received the incurable blow and nonetheless remained unbent and unshaken, the dragon turns to his usual cunning and suborning his wife, through her he advises the just man, saying: "Say some word against the Lord, and die." But again he received the blow to the head, hearing: "If we have received good things from the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure the evil?" Thus, with the devil having been often overthrown and dashed to the ground by the athlete and in many assaults, three certain renowned friends of Job, having heard what had happened as his fame was proclaiming his misfortunes everywhere, came to visit him. But not finding a remedy of consolation because of the excess of his evils, they sat beside him in silence, showing their sympathy by their presence. 15 The words 1, 6 And it came to pass on this day that the angels of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and the devil came with them. God is invisible to every created being, without quantity, without magnitude, present everywhere and watching over all things, embracing all things, and there is no place outside of his dominion, and he is present to each as is fitting, to the holy angels as holy, sending out ineffable voices of commands, but to the wicked one as wicked, granting permissions for temptations. For the devil is not able to do anything, except what is permitted by God, and he does not stand in the super-celestial places, may it not be so; for from there he was cast down. For how, it says, has the morning star, that rises early, fallen from heaven? But he is said to be present with the angels as being himself also in the places of God's dominion and awaiting to be permitted or allowed to make temptations against men, not fulfilling any service to God in this, but because by perversion and malice he was brought to this and rages against us, he is permitted by the one who governs our affairs well, according to what we are able to bear.

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μετ' αὐτῶν. Προθεωρία τοῦ κεφαλαίου ὁ κοινὸς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀλιτήριος διάβολος οὐ φέρων τοῦ δικαίου τὴν ἐπ' ἀρεταῖς ἀνδραγαθίαν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἔχων τινὰ ἐξουσίαν καθ' ἡμῶν, ὅπουγε οὔτε χοίρων ἔσχεν εἰ μὴ παρὰ τοῦ σωτῆρος εἴληφε, διαβάλλει πρὸς θεὸν τὸν δίκαιον ὡς οὐ δι' ἀρετὴν μετιόντα τὸ δίκαιον, ἀλλ' ὡς ἀντιμισθίαν εἰσφέροντα τῷ θεῷ ἐφ' οἷς αὐτὸν εὐηργέτησεν, ἐπεί φησιν· περίελε τὴν εὐδαιμονίαν καὶ ὄψει τοῦ τρόπου τὴν φαυλότητα· ὁμοῦ γὰρ τῇ τῶν χρημάτων ἀφαιρέσει καὶ εἰς πρόσωπον ἐξοίσει κατὰ σοῦ τὴν βλασφημίαν. ἐπὶ τούτοις θεὸς εἰδὼς τοῦ δικαίου τὴν κατὰ ψυχὴν ἀνδρείαν, βουλόμενος δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ διὰ τῶν ἀγωνισμάτων λαμπρότερον ἀναγορεῦσαι, δίδωσι τῷ διαβόλῳ τὴν κατὰ τῆς περιουσίας τοῦ Ἰὼβ ἐξουσίαν· ὁ δὲ οὕτως ἐπεξῆλθεν αὐτῷ τῇ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ἀπωλείᾳ, ὡς ἀκριβῶς αὐτοῦ πᾶσαν ἐκκόψαι τὴν περιουσίαν καὶ μόνους ἀγγέλους ὑπολείψασθαι τῶν συμφορῶν ἀλλεπαλλήλοις αὐτὸν καὶ πικροτάταις βάλλοντας ταῖς ἀπαγγελίαις. ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὰ τιμιώτατα τῶν πατέρων κτήματα παῖδες τυγχάνουσιν, ἀπολαβὼν ὁ διάβολος τὴν ἀρίστην δεκάδα τῶν παίδων συνεστιωμένην ἀθρόον ἅπασι τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπέσεισε καὶ πολυάνδριον αὐτοῖς τὸν οἶκον 14 εἰργάσατο, ἄπαιδα τὸν πολύπαιδα ἐν μιᾷ καιροῦ καταστήσας ῥοπῇ. τότε ὁ ἀδάμας ἐκεῖνος Ἰὼβ ἀποδιδοὺς τῇ φύσει τὸ χρέος τὴν μὲν στολὴν ἔρρηξεν· ἐκείρατο δὲ καὶ τὴν κόμην πενθικῶς· φθέγγεται δὲ οὐδὲν ἀγεννὲς οὐδὲ ἀνάξιον τῆς ἑαυτοῦ μεγαλοψυχίας, ἀλλ' ὁμοῦ τῇ ὑστάτῃ καὶ μεγίστῃ πληγῇ τὰς πολυυμνήτους ἐκείνας ἀφῆκε φωνάς· ὁ κύριος ἔδωκεν, ὁ κύριος ἀφείλατο· ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ ἔδοξεν, οὕτω καὶ ἐγένετο, εἴη τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου εὐλογημένον. ταύταις ταῖς φωναῖς τὰς καιριωτάτας πληγὰς δεξάμενος ὁ διάβολος καὶ διαφερόντως διὰ τῶν εἰς τὸν δίκαιον ἐπαίνων τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ αἰσχύνεται μέν (ἀναιδὲς γὰρ τὸ θηρίον), τὸν δὲ εἰς τὸ δέρμα τοῦ δικαίου προστίθησιν ἀγῶνα καὶ αἰτεῖ τὸν θεὸν ἐξουσίαν λαβεῖν τῷ σώματι χρήσασθαι τοῦ Ἰώβ. πάλιν δὲ ὁ φιλάνθρωπος θεὸς ὁ τοὺς οἰκείους στεφανίτας ἀγγέλοις καὶ ἀνθρώποις δημοσιεύειν βουλόμενος ἐπιτρέπει καὶ τοῦτο. ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὴν ἀνήκεστον πληγὴν εἴληφεν ὁ ἀνὴρ καὶ οὐδὲν ἧττον ἔμεινεν ἀκαμπὴς καὶ ἀκατάσειστος, ἐπὶ τὴν συνήθη τρέπεται πανουργίαν ὁ δράκων καὶ ὑποδραμὼν αὐτοῦ τὴν σύνευνον δι' αὐτῆς παραινεῖ τῷ δικαίῳ λέγων· εἰπόν τι ῥῆμα πρὸς κύριον καὶ τελεύτα. ἀλλὰ καὶ πάλιν κατὰ κόρρης εἴληφε τὴν πληγὴν ἀκούσας· εἰ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἐδεξάμεθα ἐκ χειρὸς κυρίου, τὰ κακὰ οὐχ ὑποίσομεν; οὕτω τοῦ διαβόλου πολλάκις ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀθλητοῦ καὶ ἐν πολλαῖς ταῖς προσβολαῖς περιτραπέντος καὶ καταραχθέντος τρεῖς ἔνδοξοί τινες φίλοι τοῦ Ἰὼβ τῆς φήμης αὐτοῦ πανταχοῦ τὰς συμφορὰς περιαγγελλούσης ἀκούσαντες τὰ συμβεβηκότα ἦλθον αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὴν ἐπίσκεψιν. παραμυθίας δὲ οὐχ εὑρίσκοντες φάρμακον διὰ τὴν τῶν κακῶν ὑπερβολὴν σιωπῇ παρεκαθέζοντο τῇ προσεδρείᾳ τὴν συμπάθειαν ἐπιδεικνύμενοι. 15 Αἱ λέξεισ 1, 6 Καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι τοῦ θεοῦ ἦλθον παραστῆναι ἐνώπιον τοῦ κυρίου καὶ ὁ διάβολος ἦλθεν μετ' αὐτῶν. ὁ μὲν θεὸς ἀόρατος πάσῃ γενητῇ κτίσει, ἄποσος ἀμεγέθης, πανταχοῦ παρὼν καὶ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἐφιστάμενος, τὰ πάντα περιλαμβάνων, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι τόπος ἔξω τῆς αὐτοῦ δεσποτείας, καὶ πάρεστιν ἑκάστῳ καθὸ προσήκει, τοῖς μὲν ἁγίοις ἀγγέλοις ὡς ἁγίοις ἀπορρήτους φωνὰς ἐπιταγμάτων ἐκπέμπων, τῷ πονηρῷ δὲ ὡς πονηρῷ συγχωρήσεις πειραστικὰς ἐφιείς. οὐ γὰρ δύναταί τινα πράττειν ὁ διάβολος, εἰ μὴ ὅσα συγχωρεῖται παρὰ θεοῦ, καὶ οὐχ ἵσταται μὲν εἰς τοὺς ὑπερουρανίους τόπους, μὴ γένοιτο· ἐκεῖθεν γὰρ ἐξεκυλίσθη. πῶς γάρ, φησίν, ἐξέπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὁ ἑωσφόρος ὁ πρωὶ ἀνατέλλων; λέγεται δὲ παρίστασθαι μετὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων ὡς καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν τοῖς τόποις τῆς δεσποτείας τοῦ θεοῦ τυγχάνων καὶ ἀναμένων ἐπιτραπῆναι ἢ συγχωρηθῆναι τοὺς κατὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ποιεῖσθαι πειρασμούς, οὐ λειτουργίαν τινὰ ταύτην ἐκπληρῶν τῷ θεῷ· ἀλλ' ἐπειδήπερ ὑπὸ τῆς παρατροπῆς καὶ τῆς κακίας εἰς τοῦτο κατηνέχθη καὶ μέμηνεν καθ' ἡμῶν, συγχωρεῖται ὑπὸ τοῦ τὰ ἡμέτερα καλῶς διοικοῦντος πρὸς ἃ φέρειν δυνάμεθα