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and having greater love for God. For this reason, when those things happened, even if shamelessly and very rashly, nevertheless the devil spoke against him, saying: Does Job worship the Lord for nothing? But when these things happened, he covered his face and withdrew, turning his back, not even having the shadow of a shameless objection to put forward. "And after a long time had passed, his wife said to him: 'How long will you endure, saying, "Behold, I wait yet a little while, expecting the hope of my salvation?"'" But he, as the contest advanced further for him, again is crowned with other garlands from his words to his wife. For indeed, his wife was then left to him, when all was destroyed—his children, his possessions, and his own body—and she too for a trial and a plot; for this reason the devil did not destroy her with the children, nor did he ask for her slaughter, since he expected her to contribute greatly to the plot against this holy man; for this reason, as some very great weapon, he left her for him. "For if," he says, "through her I cast Adam out of paradise, much more will I be able to trip up Job from a dunghill." And behold the wickedness: for he did not bring forward this device when the oxen were perishing, nor the donkeys, nor the camels, nor when the house fell down, nor when the children were buried, but for a time he is silent and keeps still, watching the athlete. But when the fount of worms gushed forth, and the rotting skin fell away, and the wasting flesh produced a discharge full of much foul odor, and more painful than frying pans, and furnaces, and every flame, the devil's hand was consuming him, more terribly than any wild beast gnawing him from all sides, and devouring his body; and in this calamity much time passed, then he brings her forward to him, already wasted away and worn down. For if she had approached at the beginning of the calamity, she would not have found him so enfeebled, nor would she have been able to exaggerate the calamity and heighten it with her speech. But now, when she saw him, through the length of time, thirsting for release, and desiring a solution to his present circumstances intensely, then she approaches. For when he was extremely worn down, and could no longer even breathe, but even desired to die, 64.560 listen to what he says: "If only I could lay hands on myself, or ask another, and he would do this for me." And behold for me the wickedness of the woman, from where she immediately begins—from the great length of time: "How long will you endure?" she says. And if often, even when there are no troubles, words alone have power to soften, consider what he was likely to suffer then, with these words and the troubles paining him; and what is worst of all, that it was also a woman saying these things, a woman who had given up and was despondent, and for this reason was eager to cast him too into despair. But so that we might see the device more clearly, brought against this adamantine wall, let us also hear the words themselves. What then are they? "How long will you endure, saying, 'Behold, I wait yet a little while, expecting the hope of my salvation.'" "For time," she says, "has refuted your words, by becoming longer, but showing no solution." And she said these things, not only casting him into despair, but also reproaching and mocking him. For he, always comforting and putting her off when she was troubling him, would say such things: "Wait yet a little while, and soon there will be an end to these things." Therefore reproaching him, she says, "Will you say the same thing now too?" "For much time has already passed, and no end to these things has appeared." Why do you weaken the athlete, O woman? Why do you lower his hands? It was necessary to say, "Yet a little while." And behold the wickedness: for she does not mention the oxen, nor the sheep, nor the camels;

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καὶ πλείονα περὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἐχούσης ἀγάπην. ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο, ἐκείνων μὲν γινομένων, εἰ καὶ ἀναισχύντως, καὶ σφόδρα ἰταμῶς, ἀλλὰ ὅμως ἀντεῖπεν ὁ διάβολος λέγων· Μὴ δωρεὰν Ἰὼβ σέβεται τὸν Κύριον; τούτων δὲ συμβάντων, ἐγκαλυψάμενος ἀνεχώρησε, νῶτα δοὺς, καὶ οὐδὲ ἀναισχύντου τινὸς ἀντιλογίας σκιὰν γοῦν ἔχων προβαλέσθαι. «Χρόνου δὲ πολλοῦ προβεβηκότος, εἶπεν αὐτῷ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ· Μέχρι τίνος καρτερήσεις, λέγων· Ἰδοὺ ἀναμένω χρόνον ἔτι μικρὸν, προσδεχόμενος τὴν ἐλπίδα τῆς σωτηρίας μου;» Ὁ δὲ, περαιτέρω προϊόντος αὐτῷ τοῦ ἀγῶνος, πάλιν ἑτέρους ἀναδεῖται στεφάνους, ἐκ τῶν πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα ῥημάτων. Καὶ γὰρ ἡ γυνὴ μᾶλλον λοιπὸν ὑπελείφθη, πάντων ἀφανισθέντων αὐτῷ, καὶ τῶν παίδων, καὶ τῶν κτημάτων, καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ σώματος, καὶ αὕτη πρὸς πεῖραν καὶ ἐπιβουλήν· διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὴν μετὰ τῶν τέκνων οὐκ ἠφάνισεν ὁ διάβολος, οὐδὲ ᾔτησεν αὐτῆς τὴν σφαγὴν, ἐπειδὴ προσεδόκησε μεγάλως αὐτῷ συντελεῖν, πρὸς τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν τοῦ ἁγίου τούτου· διὰ τοῦτο, ὥσπερ τι μέγιστον ὅπλον, αὐτὴν αὐτῷ κατέλιπεν. Εἰ γὰρ παραδείσου, φησὶ, δι' αὐτῆς ἐξέβαλον τὸν Ἀδὰμ, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἀπὸ κοπρίας ὑποσκελίσαι δυνήσομαι τὸν Ἰώβ. Καὶ θέα τὴν κακουργίαν· οὐδὲ γὰρ τῶν βοῶν ἀπολλυμένων προσήγαγε τὸ μηχάνημα τοῦτο, οὐδὲ τῶν ὄνων, οὐδὲ τῶν καμήλων, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τῆς οἰκίας κατενεχθείσης, οὐδὲ τῶν παίδων καταχωσθέντων, ἀλλὰ σιγᾷ τέως καὶ ἡσυχάζει, πρὸς τὸν ἀθλητὴν ὁρῶν· ὅτε δὲ τῶν σκωλήκων ἀνέβλυσεν ἡ πηγὴ, καὶ σηπόμενον τὸ δέρμα κατέῤῥει, καὶ δαπανώμεναι αἱ σάρκες, ἰχῶρα πολλῆς γέμοντα δυσωδίας ἐποίουν, καὶ τηγάνων, καὶ καμίνων, καὶ πάσης φλογὸς ὀδυνηρότερον, αὐτὸν ἡ τοῦ διαβόλου κατανήλισκε χεὶρ, θηρίου παντὸς χαλεπώτερον διατρώγουσα πάντοθεν, καὶ κατεσθίουσα τὸ σῶμα· καὶ ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ συμφορᾷ πολὺς προῆλθε χρόνος, τότε αὐτὴν προσάγει, ἤδη τεταριχευμένῳ καὶ κατεργασθέντι. Εἰ γὰρ παρὰ τὰ προοίμια προσῆλθε τῆς συμφορᾶς, οὐδ' ἂν ἐκεῖνον εὗρεν οὕτως ἐκνενευρισμένον, οὐδ' ἂν αὕτη τὴν συμφορὰν ἔσχεν ἐξογκῶσαι οὕτω καὶ ἐπάραι τῷ λόγῳ. Νυνὶ δὲ ὅτε αὐτὸν εἶδε, διὰ τὸ μῆκος τοῦ χρόνου διψῶντα ἀπαλλαγῆς, καὶ ἐπιθυμοῦντα τῆς τῶν ἐπικειμένων λύσεως σφοδρῶς, τότε προσέρχεται. Ὅτε γὰρ σφόδρα κατειργασμένος ἦν, καὶ οὐδὲ ἀναπνεῖν λοιπὸν εἶχεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀποθανεῖν ἐπεθύμει, 64.560 ἄκουσον τί φησιν· Εἰ γὰρ ὄφελον δυναίμην ἐμαυτὸν χειρώσασθαι, ἢ δεηθείς τε ἑτέρου, καὶ ποιήσει μοι τοῦτο. Καὶ θέα μοι τὴν κακουργίαν τῆς γυναικὸς, πόθεν εὐθέως προοιμιάζεται ἀπὸ τοῦ πλήθους τοῦ χρόνου· Μέχρι τίνος καρτερήσεις; λέγουσα. Εἰ δὲ πολλάκις, καὶ πραγμάτων οὐκ ὄντων, λόγοι μόνοι ἴσχυσαν μαλάξαι, ἐννόησον τί τότε πάσχειν αὐτὸν εἰκὸς ἦν, μετὰ τῶν ῥημάτων τούτων, καὶ τῶν πραγμάτων ὀδυνόντων αὐτόν· καὶ τὸ δὲ πάντων χεῖρον, ὅτι καὶ γυνὴ ταῦτα λέγουσα ἦν, καὶ γυνὴ ἀναπεσοῦσα, καὶ ἀπαγορεύουσα, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο σπουδάζουσα καὶ αὐτὸν εἰς ἀπόγνωσιν ἐμβαλεῖν. Πλὴν ἀλλ' ἵνα σαφέστερον ἴδωμεν τὸ μηχάνημα, τῷ ἀδαμαντίνῳ τούτῳ προσαγόμενον τείχει, καὶ αὐτῶν ἀκούσωμεν τῶν ῥημάτων. Τίνα οὖν ἐστι ταῦτα; Μέχρι τίνος καρτερήσεις λέγων, Ἰδοὺ ἀναμένω χρόνον ἔτι μικρὸν προσδεχόμενος τὴν ἐλπίδα τῆς σωτηρίας μου. Ἤλεγξε γάρ σου, φησὶ, τὰ ῥήματα ὁ χρόνος, μακρότερος μὲν γινόμενος, λύσιν δὲ οὐδεμίαν ἐμφαίνων. Ταῦτα δὲ ἔλεγεν, οὐκ εἰς ἀπόγνωσιν αὐτὸν ἐμβάλλουσα μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὀνειδίζουσα, καὶ κωμῳδοῦσα· καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ἐνοχλοῦσαν ἀεὶ παραμυθούμενος, καὶ διακρουόμενος, τοιαῦτα ἐφθέγγετο, ἀνάμεινον ἔτι μικρὸν, καὶ ταχέως ἔσεται τούτων τὸ τέλος· ὀνειδίζουσα τοίνυν αὐτῷ, φησὶ, μὴ καὶ νῦν τὸ αὐτὸ ἐρεῖς; πολὺς γὰρ χρόνος ἤδη παρέδραμε, καὶ τέλος τούτων οὐδὲν ἀνεφάνη. Τί τὸν ἀθλητὴν, ὦ γύναι, ἐκλύεις; τί καταστέλλεις τὰς χεῖρας; ∆έον εἰπεῖν, Ἔτι μικρόν. Καὶ θέα τὴν κακουργίαν· οὐδὲ γὰρ μέμνηται τῶν βοῶν, οὐ τῶν προβάτων, οὐδὲ τῶν καμήλων·