In job (sermones 14) (olim sub auctore joanne chrysostomo)

 In ausitis, whose name was job. and that man was blameless, just, god-fearing, true, abstaining from every evil thing. such was adam also before he wa

 Rooted and founded, and secured up to the very arches of heaven. the first messenger came, and says to job: the yokes of oxen were plowing, and raider

 Your sons, he says, and your daughters were eating and drinking at the house of their eldest brother. see how the blessed job was filled with all unde

 In this job sinned not at all before the lord, but for all these things he offered a whole thanksgiving instead of a sacrifice to god, saying: blessed

 Having blossomed from the root, a judge of righteousness. that one warred against nature, and considered his brother a stranger this one considered e

 Those snatched away from polytheism, those gathered from wickedness, those assembled from fornication and adultery, he did not add the summit of virtu

 The sequence of theorems. and may it be granted to us to celebrate the feast genuinely, and having shared in the sufferings of the saints, to share al

 Rather in temporary wealth, but in that of piety. but some other wise man, taking the saying in a common sense, thinks that great works are vineyards

 Runners, called *cursores* in latin but when they drag some away in dishonor, do they send out other harsh and cruel soldiers? so also god sends mini

 Heaven because all earthly things have been trodden underfoot by him, because he has all men under his feet. having gone about, he said, the earth, an

 To the one who wronged you, why do you worship the one who consumes your possessions? fire fell from heaven. job heard, and again bore it nobly. for h

 A wife was left, not because the devil spared her, but because he kept the weapon for himself. for since he knew that through a woman he had overcome

 To contend peter was able to act bravely without a promise, the apostles were able to contend for virtue without receiving a promise of good things

 Of the one who knows all things. from where do you come? see the wisdom of god see the cunning of the devil. for god knew from where he had come, tha

 Job with a malignant sore from foot to head. he made his whole body one wound, one 56.578 bruise. for it was necessary for him, the combatant, to be c

 The magnitude, he insults inanimate things, and fulfills the full measure of his suffering, not daring against god, but accusing himself and the day

 He suffered also in the case of job. he destroyed martyrs, in order to extinguish the church, not knowing that after the martyrs the church would flou

 This not out of ambition, but out of guilelessness, when he says: i have not disregarded the judgment of my manservant, or of my maidservant, when the

 You were. did you, then, call to judgment the one more ancient than the ages, the creator of the creation? when i stretched a line upon the earth, whe

 Again on the day of the resurrection they will receive him from the tomb into the kingdom, and with one accord they will enjoy those ineffable and ete

heaven because all earthly things have been trodden underfoot by him, because he has all men under his feet. Having gone about, he said, the earth, and walked about in the world under heaven, I am here. The arrogance of the devil is cut off. For since he thought he had power over the image of God, he is cast out of the earth, so as to walk about no more; and the Master of all banishes him. For he is the one who promised, saying: I will dwell in them, and walk among them, and I will be their God. 3. At first, the devil walked about. For when idolatry was widespread, when impiety prevailed, when all things of wickedness flourished, the devil walked about; but when there is holiness and righteousness and truth among those who keep the truth, God dwells and walks among them. Have you then considered, he says, my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, blameless, just, true, abstaining from every evil thing? Since he said, I have gone over all the world under heaven, and boasted as if he had power over all things, the word of truth, paralyzing his arrogance, says to him: Have you seen the man not trodden underfoot by you, since, as you said, you have power over all things? have you seen the one who has overcome all your wickedness? have you seen the one who has trodden on you, who treads on all? have you seen the one who has dissolved your tyranny, and dissolved injustice with justice, and impiety with piety? But he resists God, and says: He does not worship for nothing. He added the possessions, that he might insult his way of life, that he might insult his character as well, that by suspicions he might show his virtue to be counterfeit. You have given him, he says, abundance; take away the abundance, and his hypocrisy is laid bare. God says to him: Touch all that he has. For God knew that he has an insatiable intention for greed; and he says: Behold, I give you authority over all things, but do not touch him alone. He restricts the wickedness of the devil with limits. See then what a bow he draws against the just man, what arrows he sends. He went out, and first the worker of evils himself takes shape, presenting himself as a messenger of evils, he himself struck the cattle, and he himself reports the blow. For the devil, he says, said to Job: Your yokes of oxen were plowing, and the female donkeys were grazing, and the captors came, and they slaughtered your servants, and I alone was left, and I came to report it to you. The first temptation of the devil, the first arrow against the noble combatant. But Job raised the shield of faith, which is able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. The yokes of oxen were lost, and his soul was not divided. The donkeys were lost, and the noble colt did not deny the bridle of piety. He saw the bitter message of the loss of his possessions, and remained as a secure and unconquerable tower. The devil, being bitter in wickedness and bitter in purpose, regretted having reported it thus. And pay close attention, I beseech you, lest the thought of the Evil One escape you, which the Apostle also, having observed accurately, says: For we are not ignorant of his 56.574 designs. So when he reported to him that the yokes of oxen were plowing, and the female donkeys were grazing, and the captors came, and he saw Job bearing the message with a noble soul, he regretted that he had reported badly, and the devil all but said to himself: I reported badly, telling him that men waged war on him; he is able to reason that if men waged war and wronged me, what has that to do with God? Badly, he says, did I shoot my bow, I did not hit the mark, I failed in my archery, the arrows went astray. I said that men took them captive; this man is able to say: Why then should I ascribe the injustice of men to God? Are those who have done wrong one group, and the one who will be blasphemed another? Therefore, in order to turn his mind from men to God, and to show him not men harming him, but God warring against him, he says to him: Fire fell from heaven. Are you not able to say that enemies threw it from above? Insult the one who wronged you, blaspheme the one who warred against you. Fire fell from heaven. Why do you worship the

οὐρανὸν ὅτι πάντα αὐτῷ πεπάτηται γήϊνα, ὅτι πάντας ὑπὸ πόδας ἔχει τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. Περιελθὼν, ἔφη, τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσας τὴν ὑπ' οὐρανὸν, πάρειμι. Ἐκκόπτεται τοῦ διαβόλου ἡ ἀλαζονεία. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐνόμισε κρατεῖν τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰκόνος, ἐκβάλλεται τῆς γῆς, ὥστε μηκέτι ἐμπεριπατεῖν· καὶ ἐξορίζει αὐτὸν ὁ πάντων ∆εσπότης. Αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἐπαγγειλάμενος, ὅτι· Ἐνοικήσω ἐν αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσω, καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτῶν Θεός. γʹ. Τὰ πρῶτα ἐμπεριεπάτει ὁ διάβολος. Ὅτε μὲν γὰρ ἡ εἰδωλολατρεία ἐκέχυτο, ὅτε ἡ ἀσέβεια ἐκράτει, ὅτε πάντα τὰ τῆς κακίας ἤκμαζεν, ὁ διάβολος ἐμπεριεπάτει· ὅτε δὲ ἁγιωσύνη καὶ δικαιοσύνη καὶ ἀλήθεια παρὰ τοῖς φυλάττουσι τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ὁ Θεὸς ἐνοικεῖ καὶ ἐμπεριπατεῖ. Προσέσχες οὖν τῇ διανοίᾳ σου, φησὶ, κατὰ τοῦ θεράποντός μου Ἰὼβ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι κατ' αὐτὸν τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἄμεμπτος, δίκαιος, ἀληθινὸς, ἀπεχόμενος ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ; Ἐπειδὴ εἶπε, Πᾶσαν περιῆλθον τὴν ὑπ' οὐρανὸν, καὶ ἠλαζονεύετο ὡς πάντων κρατῶν, παραλύων αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀλαζονείαν ὁ λόγος τῆς ἀληθείας, φησὶ πρὸς αὐτόν· Εἶδες τὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν ὑπὸ σοῦ μὴ πεπατημένον, ἐπειδὴ πάντων, ὡς ἔφης, κρατεῖς; εἶδες τὸν πάσης σου τῆς κακίας κρατήσαντα; εἶδες τὸν πατήσαντά σε τὸν πατοῦντα πάντας; εἶδες τὸν ἐκλύσαντά σου τὴν τυραννίδα, καὶ τὴν ἀδικίαν ἐκλύσαντα τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ, καὶ τὴν ἀσέβειαν τῇ εὐσεβείᾳ; Ὁ δὲ ἀνθίσταται τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ λέγει· Οὐ δωρεὰν σέβεται. Προσέθηκε τὰ κτήματα, ἵνα ὑβρίσῃ αὐτοῦ τὸν τρόπον, ἵνα ὑβρίσῃ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ ἦθος, ἵνα ταῖς ὑπονοίαις νόθον δείξῃ τὴν ἀρετήν. Σὺ δέδωκας αὐτῷ, φησὶ, τὴν ἀφθονίαν· περίελε τὴν ἀφθονίαν, καὶ γυμνοῦται ἡ ὑπόκρισις. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός· Ἅψαι πάντων ὧν ἔχει. Ἤδει γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς, ὅτι ἀκόρεστον ἔχει τὴν πρόθεσιν εἰς πλεονεξίαν· καὶ λέγει· Ἰδοὺ, πάντων δίδωμί σοι τὴν ἐξουσίαν, αὐτοῦ δὲ μόνον μὴ ἅψῃ. Ὅροις περιορίζει τὴν κακίαν τοῦ διαβόλου. Βλέπε λοιπὸν οἷον ἀποτείνει τόξον κατὰ τοῦ δικαίου, οἷα πέμπει βέλη. Ἐξῆλθε, καὶ πρῶτον σχηματίζεται αὐτὸς ὁ τῶν κακῶν ἐργάτης, αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν ἄγγελον τῶν κακῶν παραστήσας, αὐτὸς ἔπληξε τὰ κτήνη, καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπαγγέλλει τὴν πληγήν. Εἶπε γὰρ, φησὶν, ὁ διάβολος τῷ Ἰώβ· Τὰ ζεύγη τῶν βοῶν σου ἠροτρία, καὶ αἱ θήλειαι ὄνοι ἐνέμοντο, καὶ ἦλθον οἱ αἰχμαλωτεύοντες, καὶ κατέσφαξαν τοὺς παῖδάς σου, καὶ ὑπελείφθην ἐγὼ μόνος, καὶ ἦλθον τοῦ ἀπαγγεῖλαί σοι. Πρώτη πεῖρα τοῦ διαβόλου, πρῶτον βέλος κατὰ τοῦ γενναίου ἀγωνιστοῦ. Ἀλλ' ἀντέστησεν Ἰὼβ τὸν θυρεὸν τῆς πίστεως, τὸν δυνάμενον πάντα τὰ βέλη τοῦ πονηροῦ τὰ πεπυρωμένα σβέσαι. Τὰ ζεύγη τῶν βοῶν ἀπώλετο, καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ οὐκ ἐμερίζετο. Αἱ ὄνοι ἀπώλοντο, καὶ ὁ εὐγενὴς πῶλος τὸν χαλινὸν τῆς εὐσεβείας οὐκ ἠρνήσατο. Εἶδεν ἀγγελίαν πικρὰν τῆς ἀπωλείας τῶν κτημάτων, καὶ ἔμεινεν ὡς ἀσφαλὴς πύργος καὶ ἀκαταγώνιστος. Ὁ διάβολος πικρὸς ὢν τῇ κακίᾳ, καὶ πικρὸς ὢν τὴν προαίρεσιν, μετεμελήθη οὕτως ἀπαγγείλας. Καὶ πρόσεχε ἀκριβῶς, παρακαλῶ, μή σε διαφύγῃ ἡ τοῦ Πονηροῦ ἔννοια, ἣν καὶ Ἀπόστολος ἀκριβῶς κατοπτεύσας, φησίν· Οὐ γὰρ αὐ56.574 τοῦ τὰ νοήματα ἀγνοοῦμεν. Ὡς οὖν ἀπήγγειλεν αὐτῷ, ὅτι Τὰ ζεύγη τῶν βοῶν ἠροτρία, καὶ αἱ θήλειαι ὄνοι ἐνέμοντο, καὶ ἦλθον οἱ αἰχμαλωτεύοντες, εἶδε δὲ τὸν Ἰὼβ ψυχῇ γενναίᾳ φέροντα τὴν ἀγγελίαν, μετεμελήθη ὅτι κακῶς ἀπήγγειλε, καὶ μονονουχὶ εἶπε πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ὁ διάβολος· Χακῶς ἀπήγγειλα, εἰπὼν αὐτῷ ὅτι ἄνθρωποι αὐτῷ ἐπολέμησαν· δύναται λογίσασθαι, ὅτι εἰ ἄνθρωποι ἐπολέμησαν καί με ἠδίκησαν, τί πρὸς τὸν Θεόν; Κακῶς, φησὶν, ἐτόξευσα, οὐ κατὰ σκοποῦ ἔβαλον, ἀπέτυχον τῆς τοξείας, ἀπεπλανήθη τὰ βέλη. Εἶπον ὅτι ἄνθρωποι ᾐχμαλώτευσαν· δύναται οὗτος εἰπεῖν· Τί οὖν τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀδικίαν Θεῷ ἐπιγράψω; Ἄλλοι οἱ ἠδικηκότες, καὶ ἄλλος ἔσται ὁ βλασφημούμενος; Ἵνα οὖν μεταγάγῃ αὐτοῦ τὴν διάνοιαν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰς Θεὸν, καὶ δείξῃ αὐτῷ οὐκ ἀνθρώπους καταβλάπτοντας, ἀλλὰ Θεὸν πολεμοῦντα, λέγει αὐτῷ· Πῦρ ἔπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. Μὴ δύνῃ εἰπεῖν, ὅτι ἐχθροὶ ἔῤῥιψαν ἄνωθεν; Ὕβρισον τὸν ἀδικήσαντα, βλασφήμησον τὸν πολεμήσαντα. Πῦρ ἔπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. ∆ιὰ τί λατρεύεις τῷ