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

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; but not everywhere is a Paul, not everywhere is a Peter; the souls of many are weak, the minds of many shrink back. For if today, when the kingdom is preached, the enjoyment of future good things, angelic cohabitation, the delight in paradise, many despise the promises, being fused to present things; if it were completely silenced, who would have run to piety? Rightly therefore, brothers, he does not show future things to Job, that he might show a firmer resolve; but to the apostles he promises future things, that he might arouse the souls of the hearers, that he might strengthen the mind of the world. Many now hear about the kingdom, and despise it; many await Christ, and clothe themselves in wickedness; many do not withdraw from evil; many today honor the fasts, and say: Today I say nothing to my adversary; let the day of Christ's passion pass, and I will exercise judgment, I will avenge the insult, I will do many things. Therefore you are a brother of Esau, thinking these things; you say the same things that Esau said. For Esau wished to murder his brother, but he respected his father. And what did he say? Let the days of my father's mourning draw near, and then I will murder my brother; let my father's death pass, and then I will kill him. And what do you say? Let the passion of Christ pass, and then I will campaign against my enemy. See that you are not a brother of Esau. Hear what Paul says: Lest any be a fornicator, or profane, like Esau; that the many might not be defiled through him. These things have been said by me, not for provocation, but for the help and salvation of the brothers. And may it be that we, being instructed by word and taught by histories, succeeding in the contests of the holy Fathers and prophets, always send up glory to God, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. On the just and blessed Job, Sermon 4. 1. Everywhere indeed and upon all, so to speak, of the divine narratives, words are inferior to the deeds, and expressions are weaker than the subjects; but especially in the case of the achievements of the blessed Job. No one can ever with his own humble word do justice to the subject. For even if ten thousand things are said about him, the word falls short of the power it deserves. Since, therefore, we have spoken moderately according to our ability, nothing prevents us from taking up the same narratives today as well. And let no one think the subject is being insulted if we divide the narrative. For Job does not feel pain being cut; for if he did not feel pain when his body was being cut, will he feel pain when his narrative is being cut? We have learned from the previously mentioned narratives that he lost everything, or rather, he found everything. For having lost all splendid things, he did not lose the root of splendor. He lost the lyre, but the craftsman remained; he lost the fruits of abundance, but the farmer of well-doing remained; he was stripped of all possessions, and was not stripped of virtue. He cast forth his possessions to the devil, casting off his livelihood, just as Joseph cast off his garment to the shameless woman. In his suffering he was not suffering. For one must both acknowledge the passion of nature and praise the courage of the soul. The characteristics of nature were shown, and the advantages of virtue were also shown. He heard of his children's misfortune, and tore his garments, that he might show the sympathy of nature. For if he had not suffered, he would not have been admired as a lover of virtue, but would have been condemned as insensitive. But he suffered as a man, and endured as a lover of God; and he convicted the weakness of nature, and did not betray the way of piety. He tore his garments, but he worshipped. Therefore the devil did not strike so much as he was stricken; he did not wound so much as he was wounded. But God again gives Job, who had contended well in the first contest, to another contest, that he might weave for him a more brilliant 56.577 crown of patience. For again for a second time the angels present themselves, and the devil is questioned in their midst by the

ἀγωνίσασθαι· ἠδύνατο Πέτρος ἄνευ ἐπαγγελίας ἀνδρίσασθαι, ἠδύναντο οἱ ἀπόστολοι μὴ δεξάμενοι ἐπαγγελίαν ἀγαθῶν ὑπὲρ ἀρετῆς ἀγωνίσασθαι· ἀλλ' οὐ πανταχοῦ Παῦλος, οὐ πανταχοῦ Πέτρος· πολλῶν ἀσθενοῦσιν αἱ ψυχαὶ, πολλῶν ὀκλάζουσιν αἱ διάνοιαι. Εἰ γὰρ σήμερον βασιλείας κηρυττομένης, μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν ἀπολαύσεως, συνδιαιτήσεως ἀγγελικῆς, τῆς ἐν παραδείσῳ τρυφῆς, καταφρονοῦσι τῶν ἐπηγγελμένων πολλοὶ, προστετηκότες πρὸς τὰ παρόντα· εἰ πάντως ἐσιωπήθη, τίς ἂν προσέδραμε τῇ εὐσεβείᾳ; Εἰκότως οὖν, ἀδελφοὶ, τῷ μὲν Ἰὼβ οὐ δείκνυσι τὰ μέλλοντα, ἵνα στερεωτέραν δείξῃ τὴν πρόθεσιν· τοῖς δὲ ἀποστόλοις ἐπαγγέλλεται τὰ μέλλοντα, ἵνα τῶν ἀκροατῶν διεγείρῃ τὰς ψυχὰς, ἵνα τῆς οἰκουμένης νευρώσῃ τὴν διάνοιαν. Πολλοὶ νῦν ἀκούουσι περὶ βασιλείας, καὶ καταφρονοῦσι· πολλοὶ Χριστὸν ἐκδέχονται, καὶ πονηρίαν ἐνδύονται· πολλοὶ κακίας οὐκ ἀναχωροῦσι· τιμῶσι πολλοὶ σήμερον τὰς νηστείας, καὶ λέγουσι· Σήμερον οὐδὲν λέγω τῷ ἀντιδίκῳ μου· παρέλθοι ἡ ἡμέρα τοῦ πάθους τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ γυμνάζω τὴν δίκην, ἐκδικῶ τὴν ὕβριν, ποιῶ πολλά. Οὐκοῦν ἀδελφὸς εἶ τοῦ Ἡσαῦ, ταῦτα ἐνθυμούμενος· ταὐτὰ λέγεις, ἃ εἶπεν Ἠσαῦ. Καὶ γὰρ Ἠσαῦ ἠθέλησε φονεῦσαι τὸν ἀδελφὸν, ἀλλὰ τὸν πατέρα ᾐδεῖτο. Καὶ τί εἶπεν; Ἐγγισάτωσαν αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ πένθους τοῦ πατρός μου, καὶ τότε φονεύσω τὸν ἀδελφόν μου· παρέλθῃ ὁ θάνατος τοῦ πατρός μου, καὶ τότε ἀναιρῶ. Καὶ σὺ τί λέγεις; Παρέλθῃ τὸ πάθος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ τότε στρατεύσομαι κατὰ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ μου. Βλέπε μὴ ἀδελφὸς εἶ τοῦ Ἡσαῦ. Ἄκουσον τί λέγει ὁ Παῦλος· Μή τις πόρνος, μὴ βέβηλος, ὡς Ἡσαῦ· ἵνα μὴ δι' αὐτοῦ μιανθῶσιν οἱ πολλοί. Ταῦτα εἴρηταί μοι, οὐκ εἰς παροξυσμὸν, ἀλλ' εἰς ἀντίληψιν τῶν ἀδελφῶν καὶ σωτηρίαν. Γένοιτο δὲ ἡμᾶς καὶ λόγῳ παιδευομένους, καὶ ἱστορίαις παιδαγωγουμένους, ταῖς τῶν ἁγίων Πατέρων καὶ προφητῶν ἀθλήσεσι κατορθοῦντας, δόξαν πάντοτε τῷ Θεῷ ἀναπέμπειν, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. Εἰς τὸν δίκαιον καὶ μακάριον Ἰὼβ, Λόγος δʹ. αʹ. Πανταχοῦ μὲν καὶ ἐπὶ πάντων, ὡς εἰπεῖν, τῶν θείων διηγημάτων κατώτεροι τῶν πραγμάτων οἱ λόγοι, καὶ ἀσθενέστεραι αἱ λέξεις τῶν ὑποθέσεων· ἐξαιρέτως δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν τῷ μακαρίῳ Ἰὼβ κατωρθωμένων. Οὐδεὶς οὐδεπώποτε δύναται τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ὑποθέσεως παρισῶσαι τὸν λόγον τῆς ἑαυτοῦ εὐτελείας. Κἂν γὰρ μυρία περὶ αὐτοῦ λέγηται, τῆς κατ' ἀξίαν δυνάμεως ὁ λόγος ἀπολιμπάνεται. Ἐπεὶ οὖν εἴρηται ἡμῖν τὰ κατὰ δύναμιν μετρίως, οὐδὲν κωλύει καὶ σήμερον τῶν αὐτῶν ἅψασθαι διηγημάτων. Καὶ μηδεὶς νομιζέτω ὑβρίζεσθαι τὴν ὑπόθεσιν, εἰ κατατέμνωμεν τὸ διήγημα. Οὐ γὰρ ἀλγεῖ Ἰὼβ τεμνόμενος· εἰ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα τεμνόμενος οὐκ ἤλγει, τῷ διηγήματι τεμνόμενος ἀλγήσει; Ἔγνωμεν ἀπὸ τῶν προειρημένων διηγημάτων, ὡς ἀπώλεσεν ἅπαντα, μᾶλλον δὲ εὗρεν ἅπαντα. Πάντα γὰρ τὰ φαιδρὰ ἀπολέσας, τὴν ῥίζαν τῆς φαιδρότητος οὐκ ἀπώλεσεν. Ἀπώλεσε τὴν λύραν, ἀλλ' ἔμενεν ὁ τεχνίτης· ἀπώλεσε τοὺς καρποὺς τῆς εὐθηνίας, ἀλλ' ἔμενεν ὁ γεωργὸς τῆς εὐπραγίας· ἐγυμνώθη πάντων τῶν κτημάτων, καὶ οὐκ ἐγυμνώθη τῆς ἀρετῆς. Προέῤῥιψε τῷ διαβόλῳ τὰ κτήματα, ἀποῤῥιψάμενος τὸν βίον, ὥσπερ ὁ Ἰωσὴφ τὸ ἱμάτιον τῇ ἀτίμῳ. Ἐν τῷ πάσχειν οὐκ ἔπασχε. ∆εῖ γὰρ καὶ τῆς φύσεως ὁμολογεῖν τὸ πάθος, καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀνυμνεῖν τὴν ἀνδρείαν. Ἐδείχθη τῆς φύσεως τὰ γνωρίσματα, ἐδείχθη καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς τὰ πλεονεκτήματα. Ἤκουσε τῶν παίδων τὴν συμφορὰν, καὶ διέῤῥηξε τὰ ἱμάτια, ἵνα τῆς φύσεως δείξῃ τὴν συμπάθειαν. Εἰ μὴ γὰρ ἔπαθεν, οὐκ ἂν ἐθαυμάζετο ὡς φιλάρετος, ἀλλὰ κατεγινώσκετο ὡς ἀναίσθητος. Ἀλλ' ἔπαθε μὲν ὡς ἄνθρωπος, ὑπέμεινε δὲ ὡς φιλόθεος· καὶ τῆς φύσεως τὴν ἀσθένειαν ἤλεγξε, καὶ τῆς εὐσεβείας τὸν τρόπον οὐ προέδωκε. ∆ιέῤῥηξε τὰ ἱμάτια, ἀλλὰ προσεκύνησεν. Οὐ τοσοῦτον οὖν ἔπληξεν ὁ διάβολος, ὅσον ἐπλάγη· οὐ τοσοῦτον ἔτρωσεν, ὅσον ἐτρώθη. Ἀλλὰ τὸν πρῶτον ἀγῶνα καλῶς διαθλήσαντα τὸν Ἰὼβ πάλιν εἰς ἕτερον ἀγῶνα δίδωσιν ὁ Θεὸς, ἵνα λαμπρότερον αὐτῷ 56.577 πλέξῃ τῆς ὑπομονῆς τὸν στέφανον. Πάλιν γὰρ ἐκ δευτέρου παρίστανται οἱ ἄγγελοι, καὶ ὁ διάβολος εἰς τὸ μέσον ἐρωτᾶται παρὰ τοῦ