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to greatly prolong his calamities, lest some hesitation might come upon him and he grow weary. For if even a mountain, he says, and a rock grow old with time 134 and fall, and the frequent rush of waters smoothes the hardest stones, and the force of the waters floods the raised mounds of the earth and levels them, I fear, lest by the continuity of the temptations and the length of time I too might suffer something unwanted, and give up in the face of calamities. But "you have destroyed the patience of a man" means this, that without help from above, man is nothing, nor can he endure the snowflakes of temptations. 14, having pushed him to the end and he was gone, you set your face against him and sent him away. Again he laments about the nothingness of man before God. For as with wind and dust or any of the lightest things, if, he says, you only push him or set your face against him threateningly, he is immediately sent away and is gone, instead of: he dies. 14, 2122 Though his sons become many, he did not see it, and if they become few, he does not know, but his flesh felt pain, and his soul mourned. For what, he says, is the benefit to a man who has lived in pains and in mourning of soul from the things that will be after him? For whether his offspring extends to a multitude, or is reduced to a few, he himself, once dead, is ignorant. But again he gently teaches us, not to think highly of having good children and many children. For to one who is about to die once and for all, there is no benefit from these things. But the shortness of his life he put forward for entreaty and supplication. 135 TENTH CHAPTER Beginning of the saying: Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: Should a wise man answer with a spirit of understanding and has he filled his belly with pain? Preface to the chapter Job having prefaced and said: "Are you then the only men, or will wisdom die with you?" "But I have a heart as well as you." Immediately Eliphaz, taking a stand on this, says to Job that: Never does the wise man ostentatiously put forward his own wisdom, which you have done, although having said nothing necessary, so that from your words you are shown to be both unwise and without fear. For tell me, you there: were you born before all men, or even before creation itself, or were you made an initiate of God's wisdom, that you attribute it to yourself? And how did you dare to say that: "I am blameless and I will appear righteous," when neither angels nor heaven, let alone an unclean man, can be pure in comparison to the purity of God? Learn, therefore, an ancient and true saying, that punishments were brought upon men because of sin. 136 Then he also speaks of the things that perhaps happen to the wicked. And the saying is true, that afflictions are because of sin. However, they are not always inflicted retributively, but sometimes also for training, so that the righteous may be tested, so Eliphaz, having said these things without the proper distinction, again struck Job, classifying him with those punished for sin. But observe how they conduct their dialogues in an orderly manner, and while one is speaking, the others are silent, yielding their turns to speak to one another, and not ostentatiously interjecting their own words, but each one waits until the speaker has finished. Therefore we too should, from this example, when someone is speaking, wait for the end of his speech and not, being eager to show off, interrupt what is being said, nor offer our own words with ostentation, but in an orderly way and with order, just as the blessed Job and his friends conducted their discussions without confusion. This is what the most wise Paul also commanded those prophesying in church to do; "But if," he says, "a revelation is made to another sitting by, let the first be silent." "For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn," at the same time both imposing order on those who prophesy and preserving a lack of confusion in what is said. "For the spirits," he says, "of prophets are subject to prophets," so that the utterance of words must also be made without vainglory. For this reason, therefore, Eliphaz again answers Job. 137 since

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πολὺ παρατείνειν αὐτῷ τὰς συμφοράς, μήπως τις αὐτῷ καὶ ὀκλασμὸς γένηται καὶ ἐξατονήσῃ. εἰ γὰρ καὶ ὄρος, φησίν, καὶ πέτρα τῷ χρόνῳ παλαιοῦται 134 καὶ πίπτει, καὶ τοὺς λίθους τοὺς στερροτάτους λεαίνει ἡ συχνὴ τῶν ὑδάτων ἐπιρροὴ καὶ τὰ ἀνεστηκότα τῆς γῆς χώματα ἡ τῶν ὑδάτων φορὰ κατακλύζει καὶ ὑπτία ἀπεργάζεται, δέος, μὴ τῇ συνεχείᾳ τῶν πειρασμῶν καὶ τῷ μήκει τοῦ χρόνου πάθω τι κἀγὼ τῶν ἀβουλήτων, καὶ ἀπείπω πρὸς τὰς συμφοράς. τὸ δὲ ὑπομονὴν ἀνθρώπου ἀπώλεσας τοῦτο σημαίνει, ὅτι ἐκτὸς τῆς ἄνωθεν βοηθείας ἄνθρωπος οὐδέν ἐστιν οὐδὲ τὰς τῶν πειρασμῶν νιφάδας ὑπομεῖναι δύναται. 14, ὤσας αὐτὸν εἰς τέλος καὶ ᾤχετο, ἐπέστησας αὐτῷ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου καὶ ἐξαπέστειλας. πάλιν περὶ τῆς οὐδενίας τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πρὸς θεὸν ἀποδύρεται. ὡς γὰρ ἐπὶ ἀνέμου καὶ χοὸς ἤ τινος τῶν κουφοτάτων, ἐάν, φησίν, μόνον ὠθήσῃς αὐτὸν ἢ ἐπιστήσῃς αὐτῷ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀπειλητικῶς, εὐθέως ἀποστέλλεται καὶ οἴχεται, ἀντὶ τοῦ· ἀποθνήσκει. 14, 2122 πολλῶν δὲ γενομένων τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ οὐκ εἶδεν, ἐὰν δὲ ὀλίγοι γένωνται, οὐκ ἐπίσταται, ἀλλ' ἢ αἱ σάρκες αὐτοῦ ἤλγησαν, ἡ δὲ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ ἐπένθησεν. τί δέ, φησίν, ὄφελος ἀνθρώπῳ ἐν ὀδύναις ζήσαντι καὶ ἐν πένθει ψυχῆς ἐκ τῶν μετ' αὐτὸν ἐσομένων; κἄν τε γὰρ εἰς πλῆθος ἐκταθῇ αὐτοῦ ἡ γονή, κἄν τε εἰς ὀλίγους περιστῇ, αὐτὸς ἅπαξ ἀποθανὼν ἀγνοεῖ. ἠρέμα δὲ πάλιν ἡμᾶς διδάσκει, μὴ μέγα οἴεσθαι τὴν εὐπαιδίαν καὶ πολυπαιδίαν. τῷ γὰρ ἅπαξ ἀποθνήσκειν μέλλοντι τούτων οὐδὲν ὄφελος. τὸ δὲ ὀλιγοχρόνιον πρὸς παραίτησιν καὶ ἱκεσίαν προεβάλετο. 135 ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ∆ΕΚΑΤΟΝ Ἀρχὴ τοῦ ῥητοῦ· ὑπολαβὼν δὲ Ἐλιφὰζ ὁ Θαιμανίτης λέγει· πότερον σοφὸς ἀπόκρισιν δώσει συνέσεως πνεύματι καὶ ἐνέπλησε πόνον γαστρός; Προθεωρία τοῦ κεφαλαίου τοῦ Ἰὼβ προοιμιασαμένου καὶ εἰρηκότος· πότερον ὑμεῖς ἐστε ἄνθρωποι ἢ μεθ' ὑμῶν τελευτήσει σοφία; κἀμοὶ μὲν καρδία καθ' ὑμᾶς ἐστιν, εὐθὺς ὁ Ἐλιφὰζ πρὸς τοῦτο ἱστάμενός φησι πρὸς τὸν Ἰὼβ ὅτι· οὐδέποτε ὁ σοφὸς ἐπιδεικτικῶς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ προάγει σοφίαν, ὅπερ σὺ πεποίηκας καίτοι γε οὐδὲν ἀναγκαῖον εἰρηκώς, ὥστε ἐκ τῶν σῶν ῥημάτων καὶ ἄσοφος καὶ ἄφοβος ὢν δείκνυσαι. εἰπὲ γάρ, ὦ οὗτος· πρὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων γέγονας ἢ καὶ πρὸ αὐτῆς τῆς κτίσεως ἢ μύστης τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ σοφίας κατέστης, ὅτι σαυτῷ ἀποδίδως; πῶς δὲ καὶ ἐτόλμησας εἰπεῖν ὅτι· ἄμεμπτός εἰμι καὶ δίκαιος ἀναφανοῦμαι, ὅπουγε οὔτε ἄγγελοι οὔτε οὐρανὸς μήτιγε καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἀκάθαρτος δύνανται εἶναι καθαροὶ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ καθαρότητα; μάνθανε τοίνυν παλαιὸν καὶ ἀληθῆ λόγον, ὅτι δι' ἁμαρτίας τοῖς ἀνθρώποις αἱ κολάσεις ἐπηνέχθησαν. 136 εἶτα λέγει καὶ τὰ τοῖς ἀσεβέσιν ἴσως συμβαίνοντα· καὶ ἀληθὴς μὲν ὁ λόγος, ὅτι δι' ἁμαρτίας αἱ κακώσεις· πλὴν οὐ πάντως ἀνταποδοτικῶς ἐπιφέρονται, ἀλλ' ἐσθότε καὶ γυμναστικῶς, ἵνα δοκιμασθῶσιν οἱ δίκαιοι, ὥστε μὴ μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης διαιρέσεως ταῦτα εἰρηκὼς ὁ Ἐλιφὰζ πάλιν ἔπληξε τὸν Ἰὼβ συντάξας αὐτὸν τοῖς δι' ἁμαρτίαν κολαζομένοις. θεώρει δέ, ὡς ἐν κόσμῳ ποιοῦνται τοὺς διαλόγους καὶ τοῦ ἑνὸς λαλοῦντος οἱ ἕτεροι σιωπῶσιν ἀντιπαραχωροῦντες ἀλλήλοις τὰς διαλέκτους καὶ οὐκ ἐπιδεικτικῶς τοὺς ἑαυτῶν διὰ μέσου παρεμβάλλοντες λόγους, ἀλλ' ἕκαστος ἀναμένει, ἕως ἂν ὁ λέγων πληρώσῃ. χρὴ οὖν καὶ ἡμᾶς ἐκ ταύτης τῆς εἰκόνος, ὅταν τις λαλῇ, περιμένειν τοῦ λόγου τὸ πέρας καὶ μὴ φανητιῶντας διακόπτειν τὰ λεγόμενα μήτε μετ' ἐπιδείξεως τοὺς οἰκείους προφέρειν λόγους, ἀλλ' ἐν κόσμῳ καὶ μετὰ τάξεως, ὡσπεροῦν καὶ ὁ μακάριος Ἰὼβ καὶ οἱ αὐτοῦ φίλοι ἀσυγχύτους τὰς διαλέξεις ἐποιήσαντο. τοῦτο καὶ ὁ σοφώτατος Παῦλος τοῖς ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ προφητεύουσιν ἐπέταττε ποιεῖν· ἐὰν δέ, φησίν, ἄλλῳ ἀποκαλυφθῇ καθημένῳ ὁ πρῶτος σιγάτω. δύνασθε γὰρ καθ' ἕνα πάντες προφητεύειν, ἵνα πάντες μανθάνωσιν, ὁμοῦ καὶ τάξιν ἐπιτιθεὶς τοῖς προφητεύουσι καὶ τὸ ἀσύγχυτον τοῖς λεγομένοις φυλάττων. καὶ πνεύματα, γάρ φησιν, προφητῶν προφήταις ὑποτάσσεται, ὥστε δεῖ καὶ ἀκενοδόξως ποιεῖσθαι τὴν προφορὰν τῶν λόγων. διὰ τοῦτο τοιγαροῦν πάλιν ὁ Ἐλιφὰζ πρὸς τὸν Ἰὼβ ἀποκρίνεται. 137 ἐπειδὴ