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they use human reasonings, but indeed they are also mistaken. For as has been said before, positing one cause for inflictions, they think that Job too suffered because of sin, being led to this by a plausible argument, because they consider the weakness of human nature. For this reason Eliphaz also says the things set forth: "What? Shall a mortal be pure before the Lord, or a man be blameless from his works?" This, being plausible, if it should be examined according to his thought, contains its refutation. For if one who falls into grievous things is afflicted because of sin, and no one is pure, no one would have existed outside of grievous things. But he says these things, while divine instruction 108 teaches that even wicked men, being entirely in sins, have lived their lives without affliction. Among them is the rich man with Lazarus, feasting sumptuously every day, clothed in fine linen and purple, who remained until his last breath in a most pleasant lifestyle, while Lazarus was testified to be righteous and had no rest here. But also the one who heard, "Fool, this night they will require your soul from you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?" is not recorded as having shared in affliction. And the divine word teaches this, even if he said it in a human way, that the one who is pure is not in every way also such before the Lord. And this is shown from: "and the stars are not pure in his sight," and from the Psalms: "in your sight no one living will be justified." For it did not say, "no one is justified," but, "before you." You will find, then, all falling short in comparison to God, and they do not have it in excess. For Moses, although "educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," says: "I am not able to speak, neither yesterday, nor the day before, nor since you have begun to speak to your servant." For in the presence of the surpassing 109 one, he seems to be lesser. Or also saying after other things: "But I am without speech." But also Abraham, who was called "the friend of God," says: "Since I have begun to speak to my Lord, I am but earth and ashes." He does not dishonor himself entirely, but from when he began to speak to God. And "mortal" and "man," if said by Eliphaz in parallel, yet we, considering the word more precisely, say that "mortal" can be applied to a woman. For "man" is not said of every human being. "If he does not trust his children, and devised something crooked against his angels, but those who dwell in houses of clay, from which we ourselves are also from the same clay, he struck them in the manner of a moth. And from morning until evening they are no more." He wants to draw the proof from the greater and to make it credible that every man is under sin, saying that even the children of God are not trusted by him, that is, they are not unchangeable. "and against his angels he devised something crooked" when they sinned. If this is so, much more so against those who dwell in houses of clay. 110 And he will not spare them, being from the same clay, when they sin, sending punishments upon them in the manner of a moth, who also often will not endure his judgment from morning until evening. But this is the most general understanding of what has been said, but one might ask from where he has the conception concerning the angels who transgressed, against whom he says God has devised something crooked. To which it might be said, that since he is an intelligent man, he knows that the angels are not good by nature, but are changeable. And it is not strange for him to understand this also from demon-possessed men, concerning whom the divine teaching says: "And the angels who did not keep their own position he has kept under gloom." And he says that men dwell in houses of clay instead of material ones, saying more simply also that men are composed of the same clay. For the soul is not also from clay; for the body is said to be of clay. "He struck them in the manner of a moth." being sent against them as against worthless things

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ἀνθρωπίνοις χρῶνται λογισμοῖς, ἀλλὰ γοῦν καὶ διασφάλλονται. ὡς γὰρ οὖν προείρηται, μίαν αἰτίαν τῶν ἐπαγωγῶν τιθέμενοι οἴονται καὶ τὸν Ἰὼβ δι' ἁμαρτίας πεπονθέναι, ἀπὸ πιθανοῦ λόγου ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἀγόμενοι, τὸ ἀσθενὲς τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἐννοοῦντες φύσεως. διὸ καὶ ὁ Ἐλιφὰζ τὰ προκείμενά φησιν· "τί γάρ; μὴ καθαρὸς ἔσται βροτὸς ἐναντίον κυρίου, ἢ ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ ἄμεμπτος ἀνήρ;" τοῦτο μενοῦν πιθανὸν ὑπάρχον, εἰ κατὰ τὴν ἔννοιαν αὐτοῦ ἐξετάζοιτο, ἔχει τὸν ἔλεγχον. εἰ γὰρ δι' ἁμαρτίας ὁ περιπίπτων ἀνιαροῖς θλίβεται, οὐδεὶς δὲ καθαρός, οὐδεὶς ἐκτὸς ἀνιαρῶν ὑπῆρξεν ἄν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν οὗτος, ἡ δὲ θεία παίδευσις 108 διδάσκει, ὡς καὶ πονηροὶ ἄνθρωποι καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ὄντες ἀπερίστατον τὸν βίον ἑαυτῶν διήγαγον. ὧν ἐστιν ὁ σὺν τῷ Λαζάρῳ πλούσιος καθ' ἡμέραν εὐφραινόμενος λαμπρῶς βύσσον τε καὶ πορφύραν ἐνδιδυσκόμενος μέχρις ὑστέρας ἀναπνοῆς διαμείνας ἐν ἡδίστῃ διαγωγῇ, τοῦ Λαζάρου δικαίου μαρτυρουμένου καὶ μὴ ἐσχηκότος ἐνταῦθα ἀνάπαυσιν. ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ ἀκούσας· "ἄφρων, ταύτηι τῇ νυκτὶ αἱροῦσιν τὴν ψυχὴν ἀπὸ σοῦ. ἃ δὲ ἡτοίμασας, τίνι ἔσται;" οὐ περιστάσει κοινωνήσας ἀναγέγραπται. καὶ τοῦτο δὲ παιδεύει ὁ θεῖος λόγος, εἰ καὶ οὗτος αὐτὸ εἶπεν ἀνθρωπίνως, ὅτι οὐχ ὁ καθαρὸς πάντως καὶ ἐναντίον κυρίου τοιοῦτός ἐστιν. τοῦτο δὲ δείκνυται ἐκ τοῦ· "ἄστρα δὲ οὐ καθαρὰ αὐτοῦ ἐνώπιον", καὶ τοῦ ἐν Ψαλμοῖς· "οὐ δικαιωθήσεται ἐνώπιον σοῦ πᾶς ζῶν." οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν· «οὐδεὶς δικαιοῦται», ἀλλ'· «ἐπίπροσθεν σοῦ». εὑρήσεις γοῦν ὡς πρὸς θεὸν ἀπολειπομένους πάντας, καὶ οὐ καθ' ὑπερβολὴν ἔχουσιν. ὁ Μωσῆς μὲν γὰρ καίτοι "πεπαιδευμένος πάσῃ σοφίαι Αἰγυπτίων" φησίν· "οὔκ εἰμι ἱκανὸς λαλῆσαι πρὸ τῆς χθὲς καὶ πρὸ τῆς τρίτης καὶ ἀφ' οὗ σὺ ἤρξω λαλεῖν τῶι θεράποντί σου." παρόντος γὰρ τοῦ ὑπερ109 βάλλοντος δοκεῖ ἐλάττων εἶναι. ἢ καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα λέγων· "ἐγὼ δὲ ἄλο γός εἰμι." ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἀβραὰμ ὁ "φίλος θεοῦ" χρηματίσας λέγει· "ἐπειδὴ ἠρξάμην λαλεῖν πρὸς τὸν κύριόν μου, ἐγὼ δέ εἰμι γῆ καὶ σποδός." οὐ καθάπαξ δὲ ἀτιμ̣α´̣ζει ἑαυτόν, ἀλλὰ ἀφ' οὗ ἤρξατο λαλεῖν πρὸς θεόν. "βροτὸς" δὲ καὶ "ἀνὴρ" εἰ παρὰ τοῦ Ἐλιφὰζ ἐκ παραλλήλου εἴρηται, ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς ἀκριβέστερον ἐπιβαλόντες τῶι λόγωι φαμέν, ὅτι τὸ μὲν βροτὸς οἷόν τέ ἐστι ἐπὶ γυναικὸς τετάχθαι. τὸ γὰρ ἀνὴρ οὐκ ἐπὶ παντὸς ἀνθρώπου λέγεται. "εἰ κατὰ παίδων αὐτοῦ οὐ πιστεύει, κατὰ δὲ ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ σκολιόν τι ἐπενόησεν, τοὺς δὲ κατοικοῦντας οἰκίας πηλίνας, ἐξ ὧν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πηλοῦ ἐσμεν, ἔπαισεν αὐτοὺς σητὸς τρόπον. καὶ ἀπὸ πρωΐθεν μέχρις ἑσπέρας οὐκέτι εἰσίν." ἀπὸ τοῦ μείζονος τὴν ἀπόδειξιν ἐπαγαγεῖν βούλεται καὶ πιστο ποιῆσαι, ὅτι πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ὑφ' ἁμαρτίαν ἐστὶν λέγων, ὅτι καὶ οἱ παῖδες τοῦ θεοῦ παρ' αὐτῶι οὐ πιστεύονται, ὅ ἐστιν· οὐχ ὡς ἄτρεπτοί εἰσιν. "κατὰ δὲ ἀγγέλων ἑαυτοῦ σκολιὸν ἐπενόησεν" ἁμαρτόντων. εἰ δὲ τοῦτο, πολλῷ πλέον κατὰ τῶν οἰκούντων τὰς πηλίνας 110 οἰκίας. καὶ αὐτῶν ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πηλοῦ τυγχανόντων ἁμαρτανόντων οὐ φείσεται, σητὸς τρόπον τὰς κολάσεις αὐτοῖς ἐπιπέμπων, οἳ καὶ κρίματι αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ πρωΐθεν πολλάκις ἕως ἑσπέρας οὐχ ὑπομενοῦσιν. ἀλλὰ μὲν οὖν αὕτη ἡ ὁλοσχερεστάτη νόησις τῶν εἰρημένων, ζητήσειεν δ' ἄν τις, πόθεν οὗτος ἔχει διάλημψιν περὶ τῶν παραβεβηκότων ἀγγέλων, καθ' ὧν σκολιὸν ἐπινενοηκέναι τὸν θεόν φησιν. πρὸς ὃ λεχθείη, ὅτι ἅτε συνετὸς ὢν ἀνὴρ οἶδεν, ὡς οὐ κατὰ φύσιν ἀγαθοὶ τυγχάνουσιν, ἀλλὰ τρεπτοὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι. οὐκ ἄτοπον δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ ἐκ τῶν δαιμονιζομένων ἀνθρώπων τοῦτο ἐννοεῖν, περὶ ὧν ἡ θεία διδασκαλία φησίν· "ἀγγέλους δὲ τοὺς μὴ τηρήσαν τας τὴν ἑαυτῶν τάξιν ὑπὸ ζόφον τετήρηκεν." κατοικεῖν δὲ οἰκίας πηλίνας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους φησὶν ἀντὶ τοῦ ὑλικάς, ἁπλούστερον καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πηλοῦ συνεστάναι λέγων. οὐ γὰρ καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ ἐκ πηλοῦ· τὸ γὰρ σῶμα πήλινον εἴρηται. "ἔπαισεν αὐτοὺς σητὸς τρόπον." τὴν κατ' αὐτῶν ὡς εὐτελῶν ἐπιπεμπομένην