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belongs to a man, for his life he will pay. But no, but send forth your hand and touch his bones and his flesh; surely he will bless you to your face." Of the three things called goods—external things, which are divided into money and possessions and health and other things concerning the body, and the others, the virtues—considering only the indifferent things to be goods, he thinks that Job is of this mind and shamelessly says to the Lord—we understanding 'says' according to what was said before—that a man would pay everything so as not to suffer anything himself. Which is plausible and for the most part, but not true in all cases; for many have risked their lives for money. But the evil-loving devil, belittling the courage of the blessed one and wanting to bring upon him also against his body what he had brought, says that the possession of external things is to be despised, maliciously hiding that countless people have wished to perish for their children; for thus also wars have their beginning, being for the sake of children; for each one, setting up a defense for his own children, risks his life for them. But the adversary, with a desire to 43 harm Job, also utters strange things about the matters. Therefore, as also before, he says: "But having sent forth your hand, touch his bones and his flesh; surely he will bless you to your face." For he knows, even though he has fallen, that unless God permits, he can do nothing against anyone, the permission being understood thus, that it happens wisely since it comes from God. "And the Lord said to the devil: Behold, I deliver him to you, only preserve his soul." The Lord permits this also for our benefit, so that Job, set like a character and type of courage as on inscribed pillars, might be a mark of such virtue both for those then and for those who came after, which also happened. For it is possible to hear the athlete and combatant himself saying: "I know that I will appear righteous." But in delivering him over, the Lord says: "only preserve his soul," which might be understood thus: we often see madness and perversions of the ruling faculty happening in some, for reasons which again the God who knows the hidden things knows, when these are thus delivered over. What the Lord says, therefore, is this: do not cause him stupor and perversion of the ruling faculty, 44 but touch the flesh and bones which you also requested. But if "only preserve his soul" is used instead of "do not kill him," consider it together. "And the devil went out from the Lord and struck Job with a grievous ulcer from his feet to his head." Every sinner is outside of God, but preeminently the devil as the originator of evil. And this has been said before. And since it is said in the narrative that "the devil came with the angels," the figure is introduced accordingly. It pertains to the history: "the devil went out from the Lord." And having gone out he does not wait, but immediately carries out his request, enveloping him with a wound over his whole body, wanting by the attack to destroy the tension of his virtue. But he mentions the extremities, showing that he also touched the parts in between. "And he took a potsherd to scrape away the discharge." The verse signifies his desolation and helplessness, with no one present to nurse him, but also with his wife being absent because of her diligence at work, from which both she and he perhaps were fed; for in what follows, the wife, saying to him: "And I, a wanderer and a servant, from place to place and from house to house, waiting for the sun to set," represents what was 45 said. His body had been so dissolved that it was being broken down into discharges. Therefore he himself scraped with the potsherd, being healthy and unbending in soul. "And he sat on the dunghill outside the city." It is likely that in those cities they did not permit one having such a body to live. Therefore outside the city on a dunghill

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ὑπάρχει ἀνθρώπῳ, ὑπὲρ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ ἐκτείσει. οὐ μὴν δέ, ἀλλὰ ἀποστεῖλον τὴν χεῖρά σου καὶ ἅψαι τῶν ὀστῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν σαρκῶν αὐτοῦ· εἶ μὴν εἰς πρόσωπόν σε εὐλογήσει." τριῶν ὄντων τῶν καλουμένων ἀγαθῶν, τῶν τε ἐκτός, ἃ διαιρεῖται εἴς τε χρήματα καὶ κτήματα καὶ ὑγίαν καὶ ἄλλα τὰ περὶ σῶμα, καὶ ἑτέρων τῶν ἀρετῶν, μόνα τὰ ἀδιάφορα ἀγαθὰ ἡγούμενος νομίζει καὶ τὸν Ἰὼβ ταύτης εἶναι τῆς διανοίας καὶ ἀναισχύντως λέγει πρὸς τὸν κύριον-τὸ λέγειν κατὰ τὰ ἔμπροσθεν εἰρημένα νοούντων ἡμῶν-, ὅτι πάντα ἂν ἐκτείσοι ὁ ἄνθρω πος ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ αὐτός τι παθεῖν. ὅπερ πιθανὸν μὲν καὶ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πλεῖστον, οὐ μὴν ἐπὶ πάντων ἀληθές· πολλοὶ γὰρ ὑπὲρ χρημάτων ἐκινδύνευσαν. εὐτελίζων δὲ ὁ φιλόκακος διάβολος τὴν ἀνδρείαν τοῦ μακαρίου καὶ βουλόμενος ἐπενεγκεῖν αὐτῶι καὶ κατὰ τοῦ σώματος ἅπερ ἐπήνεγκεν, εὐκαταφρόνητον εἶναί φησιν τὴν τῶν ἔξωθεν κτῆσιν κρύπτων κακοήθως, ὅτι ὑπὲρ τέκνων μύριοι ἀπολέσθαι ηὔξαντο· οὕτω γὰρ καὶ οἱ πόλεμοι τὴν σύστασιν ἔχουσιν ὑπὲρ τῶν τέκνων γενόμενοι· ἕκαστος γὰρ προβόλιον τῶν ἰδίων παιδίων ἱστάμενος ὑπερκινδυνεύει τούτων. ἀλλ' ὁ ἀντικείμενος πόθῳ τοῦ 43 κακῶσαι τὸν Ἰὼβ καὶ περὶ τῶν πραγμάτων ἀλλόκοτον φθέγγεται. διόπερ ὡς καὶ πρότερόν φησιν· "ἀλλὰ ἀποστείλας τὴν χεῖρά σου ἅψαι τῶν ὀστέων αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν σαρκῶν αὐτοῦ· εἶ μὴν εἰς πρόσωπόν σε εὐλογήσει." οἶδεν γὰρ εἴπερ καὶ ἐξέπεσεν, ὅτι εἰ μὴ θεὸς ἐπιτρέψῃ, οὐδὲν αὐτὸς κατά τινος δύναται, τῆς ἐπιτροπῆς οὕτω νοουμένης, ὅτι σοφῶς γίγνεται ἅτε παρὰ θεοῦ γιγνομέ νη. "εἶπεν δὲ ὁ κύριος τῶι διαβόλωι· ἰδοὺ παραδίδωμί σοι αὐτόν, μόνον τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ διαφύλαξον." ἐπιτρέπει καὶ τοῦτο ὁ κύριος πρὸς ἡμετέραν ὠφελίαν, ἵνα χαρακτὴρ καὶ τύπος ἀνδρείας καθάπερ ἐν στηλογραφίαις ὁ Ἰὼβ τεθεὶς σκοπὸς τῆς τοιαύτης ἀρετῆς καὶ τοῖς τότε καὶ τοῖς μεταγενεστέροις ὑπάρξῃ, ὃ καὶ γέγονεν. αὐτοῦ γὰρ ἔστιν τοῦ ἀθλητοῦ καὶ ἀγωνιστοῦ ἀκοῦσαι λέγοντος· "οἶδα, ὅτι δίκαιος ἀναφανοῦμαι." παραδιδοὺς δὲ ὁ κύριός φησιν· "μόνον τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ διαφύλαξον", ὅπερ νοηθείη οὕτως· παρακοπὰς πολλάκις κα̣ι`̣ τοῦ ἡγεμονικοῦ διαστροφὰς ἔν τισιν ὁρῶμεν γιγνομένας, δι' οὓς πάλιν οἶδεν λόγους ὁ τὸ κρυπτὸν ἐπιστάμενος θεὸς τούτων οὕτω παραδοθέντων. ὅ φησιν οὖν ὁ κύριος, τοῦτό ἐστιν· μὴ κάρον αὐτῷ καὶ διαστροφὴν τοῦ ἡγεμονικοῦ ἐρ44 γάσῃ, ἀλλὰ σαρκῶν ἅπτου καὶ ὀστέων ὧν καὶ ἐξῃτήσω. εἰ δὲ καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ «μὴ ἀποκτείνῃς αὐτὸν» κεῖται τό· "μόνον τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ διαφύλαξον", συνεπίσκεψαι. "ἐξῆλθεν δὲ ὁ διάβολος ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ ἔπαισεν τὸν Ἰὼβ ἕλκει πονηρῶι ἀπὸ ποδῶν μέχρι κεφαλῆς." πᾶς ἁμαρτωλὸς ἔξω θεοῦ ἐστιν, προηγουμένως δὲ ὁ διάβολος ὡς ἀρχέκακος. εἴρηται δὲ περὶ τούτου καὶ πρότερον. καὶ ἐπεὶ ἐν τῶι διηγήματι εἴρηται, ὡς "ἦλθεν ὁ διάβολος μετὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων", ἀκολούθως προσάγεται τὸ σχῆμα. τῆς ἱστορίας ἔχεται τό· "ἐξῆλθεν ὁ διάβολος ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίου." ἐξελθὼν δὲ οὐκ ἀναμένει, ἀλλ' εὐθὺς ἐνεργεῖ τὸ τῆς ἐξαιτήσεως ὁλοσωμάτωι τραύματι περιβαλὼν αὐτόν, προσβολῇ βουλόμενος τὸν τόνον τῆς ἀρετῆς αὐτοῦ διαλύσειν. τῶν δ' ἄκρων μνημονεύει δηλῶν, ὅτι καὶ τῶν μέσων ἥψατο. "καὶ ἔλαβεν ὄστρακον, ἵνα τὸν ἰχῶρα ξύῃ." τὴν ἐρημίαν καὶ τὸ ἀβοήθητον αὐτοῦ σημαίνει ὁ στίχος μηδενὸς παρόντος αὐτῷ τοῦ νοσηλεύοντος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς γυναικὸς ἀπούσης διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸ ἔργον σπουδήν, ἐξ οὗ καὶ αὐτὴι καὶ αὐτὸς ἴσως ἐτρέφετο· ἐν γὰρ τοῖς ἑξῆς ἡ γυνὴ λέγουσα πρὸς αὐτόν· "κἀγὼ πλανωμένη καὶ λάτρις τόπον ἐκ τόπου καὶ οἰκίαν ἐξ οἰκίας προσδεχομένη τὸν ἥλιον πότε δύσεται" τὸ εἰρημέ45 νον παρίστησιν. εἰς τοσοῦτον αὐτῷ τὸ σῶμα διελέλυτο, ὥστε εἰς ἰχῶρας ἀναλύεσθαι. δι̣ὸ τῷ ὀστράκωι ἔξυεν αὐτὸς τῆι ψυχῇ ἄνοσος ὢν καὶ ἀκαμπής. "καὶ ἐκάθητο ἐπὶ τῆς κοπρίας ἔξω τῆς πόλεως." εἰκὸς ὅτι ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν ἐκείναις οὐκ ἐπέτρεπον τὸν ἔχοντα τοιοῦτον σῶμα διάγειν. διόπερ ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ἐπὶ κοπρίας