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truly having become naked he might utter the much-hymned words; 1, 21 and falling to the ground he worshipped and said: Naked I came out from my mother's womb, and naked I shall depart there. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it seemed good to the Lord, so also it came to be; may the name of the Lord be blessed. O, the excess of philosophy! In his appearance he paid his debt to nature, but in his disposition he goes to God and bends the knee and worships genuinely and touches upon natural philosophy in the midst of his sufferings, having prepared for himself and for us the medicine of consolation. It is a law for man, he says, to be brought from non-existence into existence naked, but also to depart from life with the same appearance; what terrible thing then have we suffered, he says, having naturally nothing, but having received from God and again been deprived of those things which a little later we must endure the loss of. And he believes he suffers terrible things from God, but he worships and with thanksgiving returns the deposit and with the devil's own javelins he shoots down the sinner. For the one had said ironically: "Surely he will bless you to your face," instead of "blaspheme you," but the other, weaving a hymn of thanksgiving for what had happened, utters this very voice, blessing God, and says: "May the name of the Lord be blessed." 1, 22 In all these things that had happened to him Job did not sin at all before the Lord nor did he charge God with folly. 25 In all these waves of misfortunes, he says, Job did not even conceive in his mind anything unseemly about God; for this is what "before the Lord" signifies. For man looks at the face, but God looks at the heart. With a genuine disposition, therefore, he offered praise and did not bring forward base and foolish reasonings instead of good ones. 2, 13 And it came to pass on this day that the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and the devil came among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said to the devil: "Where do you come from?" Then the devil said before the Lord: "Having gone through the earth under heaven and having walked about the whole of it, I am here." And the Lord said to the devil: "Have you then considered my servant Job, that there is none like him among the men on earth, a man guileless, true, blameless, God-fearing, abstaining from every evil? And still he holds fast to his guilelessness; but you said to destroy his substance for naught." First, when the righteous one was tried in poverty and childlessness and showed the highest philosophy, for which not only did he not blaspheme, but also sent up voices of thanksgiving, the holy angels rejoiced at the victory, but the devil gnashed his teeth and sought to receive authority for a second trial against him. But the good God, glorifying his own genuine ones, provokes the beast, so that it might be even more ashamed, and with many praises He crowns the righteous one for preserving natural truth and for having endured no perversion from his misfortunes. But still, he says, he holds to the same guilelessness, having undergone no change; but you boasted 26 for naught, that is: you babbled unseasonably saying, "If he loses his substance, he will blaspheme." But understand from this, that God, being prescient and knowing what would happen and that the great Job would never utter anything unseemly, permitted the contest against the righteous one. But the devil knows neither the future nor the things in our heart, wherefore, not knowing that he would be defeated, he babbled, saying: "Surely he will bless you to your face." And again, thinking he would be victorious, he asks for a trial against the skin of the righteous one and says: 2, 45 Skin for skin; all that a man has he will pay for his soul. But no, rather, send forth your hand and touch his bones and his flesh, and surely he will bless you to your face. The beast is savage and shameless; for it does not endure to be sated only with our flesh, but also wishes to go through to the bones and marrow. But being refuted, the hater of mankind is again shameless and says: It is no great thing, if when the bodies of others suffered he did not

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ἀληθῶς γυμνὸς γενόμενος τὰ πολυύμνητα φθέγξηται ῥήματα· 1, 21 καὶ πεσὼν χαμαὶ προσεκύνησεν καὶ εἶπεν· αὐτὸς γυμνὸς ἐξῆλθον ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου, γυμνὸς καὶ ἀπελεύσομαι ἐκεῖ· ὁ κύριος ἔδωκεν, ὁ κύριος ἀφείλατο· ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ ἔδοξεν, οὕτως καὶ ἐγένετο· εἴη τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου εὐλογημένον. βαβαὶ φιλοσοφίας ὑπερβολῇ. τῷ μὲν σχήματι τῇ φύσει τὸ χρέος ἀπέδωκεν, τῇ δὲ διαθέσει χωρεῖ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν καὶ κλίνει γόνυ καὶ προσκυνεῖ γνησίως καὶ φυσικῆς ἅπτεται φιλοσοφίας ἐν μέσοις τοῖς πάθεσιν ἑαυτῷ τε καὶ ἡμῖν τὸ τῆς παραμυθίας σκευάσας φάρμακον. νόμος ἀνθρώπῳ, φησίν, ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων εἰς τὸ εἶναι παράγεσθαι γυμνόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐξιέναι τοῦ βίου μετὰ τοῦ ὁμοίου σχήματος· τί οὖν δεινὸν πεπόνθαμεν, φησίν, φυσικῶς μὲν οὐδὲν ἔχοντες, εἰληφότες δὲ παρὰ θεοῦ καὶ αὖθις ἀφαιρεθέντες ὧν μικρὸν ὕστερον τὴν στέρησιν ὑπομένειν ἀνάγκη. καὶ νομίζει μὲν ὑπὸ θεοῦ πάσχειν τὰ δεινά, προσκυνεῖ δὲ καὶ εὐχαρίστως ἀποδίδωσι τὴν παρακαταθήκην καὶ αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἀκοντίοις τοῖς διαβολικοῖς κατατοξεύει τὸν ἀλιτήριον. ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἔλεγεν εἰρωνευόμενος· ἦ μὴν εἰς πρόσωπόν σε εὐλογήσει, ἀντὶ τοῦ δυσφημήσει, ὁ δὲ τὸν χαριστήριον ἐπὶ τοῖς συμβᾶσιν ἀναπλέκων ὕμνον αὐτὴν ταύτην ἀφίησι τὴν φωνὴν εὐλογῶν τὸν θεόν, καί φησιν· εἴη τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου εὐλογημένον. 1, 22 ἐν τούτοις πᾶσι τοῖς συμβεβηκόσιν αὐτῷ οὐδὲν ἥμαρτεν Ἰὼβ ἐναντίον τοῦ κυρίου καὶ οὐκ ἔδωκεν ἀφροσύνην τῷ θεῷ. 25 ἐν τούτοις, φησίν, πᾶσι τοῖς τῶν συμφορῶν κύμασιν οὐδὲ κατὰ διάνοιάν τι ἀπρεπὲς περὶ θεοῦ ὁ Ἰὼβ ἐλογίσατο· τοῦτο γὰρ σημαίνει τὸ ἐναντίον τοῦ κυρίου. ἄνθρωπος μὲν γὰρ εἰς πρόσωπον, ὁ δὲ θεὸς εἰς τὴν καρδίαν βλέπει. μετὰ γνησίας οὖν τῆς διαθέσεως τὴν δοξολογίαν προσήνεγκε καὶ οὐ φαύλους καὶ ἄφρονας λογισμοὺς ἀντὶ ἀγαθῶν προσεκόμισεν. 2, 13 ἐγένετο δὲ ὡς ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη καὶ ἦλθον οἱ ἄγγελοι παραστῆναι ἐναντίον τοῦ κυρίου, καὶ ὁ διάβολος ἦλθεν ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν παραστῆναι ἐναντίον τοῦ κυρίου. καὶ εἶπεν ὁ κύριος τῷ διαβόλῳ· πόθεν σὺ ἔρχῃ; τότε εἶπεν ὁ διάβολος ἐναντίον τοῦ κυρίου· διαπορευθεὶς τὴν ὑπ' οὐρανὸν καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσας τὴν σύμπασαν πάρειμι. εἶπε δὲ ὁ κύριος πρὸς τὸν διάβολον· προσέσχες οὖν τῷ θεράποντί μου Ἰώβ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι κατ' αὐτὸν τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἄνθρωπος ἄκακος, ἀληθινός, ἄμεμπτος, θεοσεβής, ἀπεχόμενος ἀπὸ παντὸς κακοῦ; ἔτι δὲ ἔχεται ἀκακίας· σὺ δὲ εἶπας τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτῷ διὰ κενῆς ἀπολέσαι. πρῶτον ἐν πενίᾳ καὶ ἀπαιδίᾳ γυμνασθέντος τοῦ δικαίου καὶ τὴν ἄκραν φιλοσοφίαν ἐπιδειξαμένου, ἐφ' οἷς οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἐδυσφήμησεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ εὐχαριστηρίους φωνὰς ἀνέπεμψεν, οἱ μὲν ἅγιοι συνέχαιρον ἄγγελοι τῇ νίκῃ, ὁ δὲ διάβολος διέπριε τοὺς ὀδόντας καὶ δευτέρας πείρας ἐξουσίαν ἐξῄτει κατ' αὐτοῦ λαβεῖν. ὁ δὲ ἀγαθὸς θεὸς καὶ τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ δοξάζων γνησίους ὑπερεθίζει τὸ θηρίον, ἵνα καὶ μᾶλλον καταισχυνθῇ, καὶ πολλοῖς ἐγκωμίοις στεφανοῖ τὸν δίκαιον ὡς τὴν φυσικὴν ἀλήθειαν διαφυλάξαντα καὶ οὐδεμίαν ὑπομείναντα διαστροφὴν ἐκ τῶν συμφορῶν. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔτι, φησίν, τῆς αὐτῆς ἀκακίας ἔχεται μηδεμίαν ὑπομείνας τροπήν· σὺ δὲ ἐμεγαλαύχεις διὰ 26 κενῆς, ἀντὶ τοῦ· ἀκαίρως ἐφλυάρεις λέγων· ἐὰν ἀπολέσῃ τὰ ὑπάρχοντα, δυσφημεῖ. κατανόει δὲ ἐντεῦθεν, ὡς ὁ μὲν θεὸς προγνώστης ὢν καὶ εἰδὼς τὸ ἐκβησόμενον καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἂν ὁ μέγας Ἰὼβ ἀπρεπές τι φθέγξοιτό ποτε, ἐπέτρεψε τὴν κατὰ τοῦ δικαίου πάλην. ὁ δὲ διάβολος οὔτε τὸ μέλλον οἶδεν οὔτε τὰ ἐν τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ καρδίᾳ γινώσκει, διὸ καὶ ἀγνοῶν, ὅτι ἡττηθήσεται, ἐφλυάρει λέγων· ἦ μὴν εἰς πρόσωπόν σε εὐλογήσει. καὶ αὖθις νικήσειν οἰόμενος τὴν εἰς τὸ δέρμα τοῦ δικαίου πεῖραν ἐξαιτεῖ καί φησιν· 2, 45 δέρμα ὑπὲρ δέρματος· ὅσα ὑπάρχει ἀνθρώπῳ ὑπὲρ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ ἐκτίσει. οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλὰ ἀποστείλας τὴν χεῖρά σου ἅψαι τῶν ὀστῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν σαρκῶν, ἦ μὴν εἰς πρόσωπόν σε εὐλογήσει. τὸ μὲν θηρίον ὠμὸν καὶ ἀναίσχυντον· οὐ γὰρ ἀνέχεται μόνον τῶν ἡμετέρων ἐμφορηθῆναι σαρκῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μέχρις ὀστῶν καὶ μυελῶν διελθεῖν βούλεται. ἐλεγχθεὶς δὲ ὁ μισάνθρωπος πάλιν ἀναισχυντεῖ καί φησιν· οὐδὲν μέγα, εἰ ἀλλοτρίων σωμάτων πεπονθότων οὐκ