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when certain men sin and say "in their hearts there is no God" God may bring painful things, he appears, so that when they have been helped, their memory may be removed from the earth and they may be "enrolled in heaven," having been changed to virtue. And concerning the children, how his wife spoke, considering that their salvation was her only hope, saying she had borne them in vain. And visiting him she also brought up her own sufferings. "But he looked at her and said to her: You have spoken like one of the foolish women. If we have received good things from the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure the evil things?" The endurance of his soul is shown in this also, in that amid so many pains he did not endure 49 a word inappropriately brought forth by his wife, but even said: "You have spoken like one of the foolish women." And looking intently he said this, the holy man perceiving from her accusations that she brought these things forth by diabolical suggestion, and being prudent he knew that the first woman, who transgressed after being wounded by the devil, had become the cause of Adam’s transgression. For this reason he says: "You have spoken like one of the foolish women." Then also setting before her the fitting reasoning, he adds: "If we have received good things from the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure the evil things?" For it is of the same understanding not to be carried away by the pleasant things among the indifferent, and not to be cast down by the painful things. For he who has knowledge about these matters knows that the things considered good are not such by their own nature, but follow the intention of the one using them, just as also the evil things—I mean the afflictions—are not in reality evil, but their use is in relation to the one who is in them. For many with wealth were seen to be both wicked and virtuous, like Abraham and those like him, and Pharaoh and those similar. Again, when many afflictions came, some gave in, but others 50 remained unbending in their reasoning, among whom are the blessed Job and Lazarus, receiving these things as from a physician who uses cuttings and burnings for salvation. "In all these things that happened to him Job did not sin with his lips before the Lord." This is said for a second time; first, at the time of the first assault, and a second time now. And at that time it was said: "In all these things that happened to him Job did not sin before the Lord", but now: "In all these things that happened to him Job did not sin with his lips before the Lord." Some, therefore, think there is no difference between saying "sinned not with his lips" and "sinned not before the Lord," but others interpret them thus, that in the case of the removal of his possessions and the death of his children it is said absolutely "Job did not sin before the Lord" either in word or in thought, but here "with his lips" is added, saying that perhaps some agitation occurred, not equal to sin—for that would be defeat—but a movement of human weakness, forced out by the great pain throughout his whole body. The scriptural spirit therefore says—in order to show 51 the intensity of the pain and 51 his courage—that although his courage was strained to the point of an involuntary thought, he was not so disturbed as to do or say anything out of faintheartedness and meanness. The psalmist says something similar: "I was troubled and I did not speak," showing that certain things that stir up trouble happened to him, but having stopped their motion at the level of the mind, he did not speak. In agreement are the things Paul writes to the Corinthians: "For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired even of life. Indeed, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead." "Now when his three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him,

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ἁμαρτανόντων τινῶν καὶ λεγόντων "ἐν καρδίαι μὴ εἶναι θεὸν" ἐπίπονα προσαγάγῃ θεός, ἐπιφαίνεται, ἵν' ὠφεληθέντων αὐτῶν ἀναιρεθῇ ἐκ τῆς γῆς τὸ μνημόσυνον αὐτῶν καὶ "ἐν οὐρανῶι ἐνγράφωσιν" μεταβαλόντες εἰς ἀρετήν. καὶ τὰ περὶ τῶν τέκνων δὲ ὡς γυνὴ εἶπεν λογιζομένη τὴν ἐκείνων σωτηρίαν μόνην εἶναι ἐλπίδα, κενῶς αὐτὰ τετοκέναι φάσκουσα. ἐπιφοιτάζουσα δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ τὰ τῆς ἑαυτῆς κακοπαθείας προφέρει. "ὁ δὲ ἐμβλέψας εἶπεν αὐτῇ· ὥσπερ μία τῶν ἀφρόνων γυναικῶν ἐλάλησας. εἰ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἐδεξάμεθα ἐκ χειρὸς κυρίου, τὰ κακὰ οὐχ ὑποίσομεν;" τὸ καρτερὸν αὐτοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ ἐν τούτῳ δείκνυται, ἐν τοσαύταις ἀλγηδόσιν μὴ ὑπομείναντος 49 δὲ λόγον παρὰ τῆς γυναικὸς ἀναρμόστως̣ προενεχθέντα, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰπόντος· "ὥσπερ μία τῶν ἀφρόνων γυναικῶν ἐλάλησας." ἀτενὲς δὲ ἐνβλέψας τοῦτο εἴρηκεν, ἐκ τῶν ἐγκλημάτων αὐτῆς κατανοῶν ὁ ἅγιος ὅτι διαβολικῇ ὑποβολῇ ταῦτα προήνεγκεν, καὶ ἅτε φρόνιμος ὢν ᾔδει τὴν πρω´̣την παραβᾶσαν ὑπὸ διαβόλου τρωθεῖσαν αἰτίαν γεγενῆσθαι τῆς τοῦ Ἀδὰμ παραβάσεως. διὰ τοῦτο λέγει· "ὥσπερ μία τῶν ἀφρόνων γυναικῶν ἐλάλησας." εἶτα καὶ λογισμὸν αὐτῇ παραθεὶς τὸν πρέποντα ἐπάγει· "εἰ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἐδεξάμεθα ἐκ χειρὸς κυρίου, τὰ κακὰ οὐχ ὑποίσομεν;" τῆς γὰρ αὐτῆς συνέσεώς ἐστιν καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἡδέα τῶν ἀδιαφόρων μὴ καταφέρεσθαι καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἐπίπονα μὴ καταβάλλεσθαι. οἶδεν γὰρ ὁ περὶ τῶν πραγμάτων ἐπιστάμενος, ὅτι τὰ νομιζόμενα ἀγαθὰ οὐκ αὐτῶν φύσει εἰσὶ τοιαῦτα, ἀλλὰ τῃ῀̣ τοῦ χρωμένου ἀκολουθοῦντα γνώμηι, ὡς αὖ καὶ τὰ κακά-τὰ κακωτικὰ λέγω-οὐ τῷ ὄντι κακὰ τυγχάνει, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸν ἐν αὐτοῖς γιγνόμενόν ἐστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἡ χρῆσις. πολλοὶ γὰρ μετὰ πλούτου καὶ φαῦλοι καὶ σπουδαῖοι ὤφθησαν ὡς Ἀβραὰμ καὶ οἱ ὅμοιοι α̣ὐτῷ καὶ Φαραὼ καὶ οἱ παραπλήσιο̣ι̣. πολλ̣ω῀̣ν̣ πάλιν κακώσεων ἐπελθουσῶν οἱ μὲν ἐνέδοσαν, οἱ δὲ ἀ50 καμπεῖς διέμειναν τὸν λογισμόν, ὧν ἔστιν ὁ μακάριος Ἰὼβ καὶ Λάζαρος, ὡς παρὰ ἰατροῦ καὶ ταῦτα δεχόμενοι τομαῖς καὶ καύσεσιν πρὸς σωτηρίαν κεχρημένου. "ἐν πᾶσι τούτοις τοῖς συμβεβηκόσιν αὐτῷ οὐδὲν ἥμαρτεν Ἰὼβ τοῖς χείλεσιν ἐναντίον κυρίου." δεύτερον τοῦτο εἴρηται, πρῶτον μέν, ὅτε καὶ ἡ πρώτη προσβολή, δεύτερον δὲ νῦν. καὶ τότε μὲν εἴρηται· "ἐν πᾶσι τούτοις τοῖς συμβεβηκόσιν αὐτῶι οὐδὲν ἥμαρτεν Ἰὼβ ἐναντίον τοῦ κυρίου", νῦν δέ· "ἐν πᾶσι τούτοις τοῖς συμβεβηκόσιν αὐτῷ οὐδὲν ἥμαρτεν Ἰὼβ τοῖς χείλεσιν ἐναντίον τοῦ κυρίου." ἔνιοι μὲν οὖν οὐδὲν διαφέρειν ἡγοῦνται τὸ «τοῖς χείλεσι μηδὲν ἡμαρτηκέναι» εἰρῆσθαι καὶ «μηδὲν ἡμαρτηκέναι ἐνώπιον κυρίου», ἔνιοι δὲ οὕτως αὐτὰ ἐκλαμβάνουσιν, ὡς ἐπὶ μὲν τῆς ἀφαιρέσεως τῶν ὑ παρχόντων καὶ τοῦ θανάτου τῶν τέκνων καθάπαξ εἴρηται "οὐδὲν ἥμαρτεν Ἰὼβ ἐναντίον τοῦ κυρίου" οὔτε ἐν λόγωι οὔτε ἐν λογισμῶι, ἐνταῦθα δὲ μετὰ προσθήκης κεῖται τὸ "τοῖς χείλεσιν", λέγοντες, ὡς τάχα τις καὶ κλόνος ἐγένετο οὐκ ἴσος ἁμαρτήματι-τοῦτο γὰρ ἧττα-, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἀσθενείας τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης κίνημα, ἐκβιαζομένης τῆς πολλῆς ὀδύνης τῆς περὶ ὅλον τὸ σῶμα. τὸ συγγραφικὸν οὖν πνεῦμά φησιν ὅτι-ἵνα δεί51 ξῃ τὴν ἐπίτασιν τοῦ πόνου καὶ 51 τὴν ἀνδρείαν αὐτοῦ-ὅτι καίτοι τῆς ἀνδρείας ἐκβιαζομένης μέχρις ἀκουσίου ἐνθυμήματος, τετάρακται οὐχ ὥστε πρᾶξαί τι ἀπὸ ὀλιγοψυχίας καὶ μικροπρεπείας ἢ λαλῆσαι. τοιοῦτό τι καὶ ὁ ὑμνῳδὸς λέγει· "ἐταράχθην καὶ οὐκ ἐλάλησα", δηλῶν ὡς γεγένηται περὶ αὐτόν τινα τὰ ἐγείροντα τάραχον, ὧν μέχρι διανοίας τὴν κίνησιν στήσας οὐκ ἐλάλησεν. συνῳδὰ ἃ Παῦλος γράφει Κορινθίοις· "οὐ θέλω ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν, ἀδελφοί, περὶ τῆς θλίψεως τῆς γεναμένης ἡμῖν ἐν τῆι Ἀσίαι ὅτι καθ' ὑπερβολὴν ὑπὲρ δύναμιν ἐβαρήθημεν, ὥστε ἐξαπορηθῆναι ἡμᾶς καὶ τοῦ ζῆν. ἀλλ' αὐτοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τὸ ἀπόκριμα τοῦ θανάτου ἐσχήκαμεν, ἵνα μὴ πεποιθότες ὦμεν ἐφ' ἑαυτοῖς, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῷ θεῷ τῷ ἐγείραντι τοὺς νεκρούς." "ἀκούσαντες δὲ οἱ τρεῖς φίλοι αὐτοῦ τὰ κακὰ πάντα τὰ ἐπελθόντα αὐτῷ,