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having fallen asleep he will not rise again, 19b he opened his eyes and is no more. 27,20a pains will meet him like water when he sleeps, 20b and in the night darkness stole him away. 27,21a the burning wind will take him up, and he will depart, 21b and it will winnow him out of his place 27,22a and it will cast him down and will not spare him; 22b he will flee swiftly from its hand. 27,23a it will clap its hands at him 23b and will hiss him out of his place.

28,1a For there is, he says, a place for silver, from which it comes, 1b and a place for gold, from which

it is refined. 28,2a For iron comes from the earth, 2b and copper is quarried like stone. 28,3a He set, he says, an order to darkness, 3b he himself determines the end of seasons. This is what he means: that the one who has set an order in random things provides all the more for human affairs, and these matters are his concern; nothing simply or randomly passes by. Or that other things are manifest, but God's dispensation is hidden. For silver and copper have a place, but the place of wisdom no one has known; rather, he alone knows wisdom. But to men he said that the fear of God is wisdom and to do good is knowledge. He set an order to darkness, he says. He well said "order". It knows to give way and withdraw. Who drives away that gloom? Whence comes such good order in such a thing? Then he relates his power, then his wisdom, persuading not to want to demand an account from him. "Why darkness," he says, "we do not know. He can do all things, he does all things wisely." Then, after saying many things in between, he says: 28,28a Behold, the fear of God is wisdom, 28b and to abstain from evil is knowledge. Nothing is equal to this art, nothing is more powerful than this wisdom. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and good understanding have all who practice it. This is the greatest good, this is the greatest wisdom, to fear God, not to be overly curious and to cast votes and demand an account of what happens. Do not then think to find another wisdom. 149

29,1 AND JOB ADDED, SAYING IN HIS PROEM: 29,2a Who will grant me month after

month of the days that are past? What is this: "adding in his proem"? He does not finish his speeches, but brings them back to the beginning again, not allowing them to interrupt or to enter into contradiction. What then does he say? "I wished for a month to be in my old prosperity, so as to stop your mouths, so that it might be shown who I was." One month after a month of the days that are past. He sought nothing great, only for thirty days to be in his former goods and to enjoy that abundance, which no one can yet describe. Then he goes through his speech. For since this was impossible, he presents it in his speech as best he can and says what he used to do and in what circumstances he was before. See the piety of the man; he attributes everything to God. For it is not possible for one deprived of the impulse from above to ever stand. 29,2a of the days, he says, 2b in which God guarded me, 29,3a as when his lamp shone over my head, 3b when by his light I walked in darkness, 29,4a when I was abounding in ways, 4b when the Lord made a visitation of my house, 29,5a when I was very woody, 5b and my children were around me. For that he sought his former prosperity for this reason, so that God's providence might be shown, is clear from his saying: "when God guarded me." Then he speaks of the proofs of his protection: "when his lamp," he says, "shone over my head." That is: the light. And "You will light my lamp"; for there is truly need of a lamp. So great is the present darkness, so many are the circumstances of affairs, the uprisings of bodily passions, the plots of wicked men, the battles and seditions of wild demons, that he must show this very thing. "when by his light I walked in darkness." Do you see that darkness possesses all things? "And the light shines in the darkness." But just as this darkness is useful for rest, so that darkness is useful to us not through the

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κοιμηθεὶς οὐ προσθήσει, 19b ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ διήνοιξε καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν. 27,20a κοιμηθέντι συναντήσουσιν αὐτῷ ὥσπερ ὕδωρ ὀδύναι, 20b νυκτὶ δὲ ὑφείλατο αὐτὸν γνόφος. 27,21a ἀναλήψεται αὐτὸν καύσων, καὶ ἀπελεύσεται, 21b καὶ λικμήσει αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ τόπου αὐτοῦ 27,22a καὶ ἀπορρίψει αὐτὸν καὶ οὐ φείσεται· 22b ἐκ χειρὸς αὐτοῦ φυγῇ φεύξεται. 27,23a κροτήσει ἐπ' αὐτὸν χεῖρας αὐτοῦ 23b καὶ συριεῖ αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ τόπου αὐτοῦ.

28,1a ἔστι γάρ, φησίν, ἀργυρίῳ τόπος, ὅθεν γίνεται, 1b τόπος δὲ χρυσίῳ, ὅθεν

διηθεῖται. 28,2a σίδηρος μὲν γὰρ ἐκ γῆς γίνεται, 2b χαλ148 κὸς δὲ ἴσα λίθῳ λατομεῖται. 28,3a τάξιν, φησίν, ἔθετο σκότει, 3b καιρῶν πέρας αὐτὸς ἐξακριβάζεται. ἤτοι τοῦτό φησιν, ὅτι ὁ ἐν τοῖς τυχοῦσι τάξιν ὁρίσας πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις προνοεῖ καὶ μέλει τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτῷ· οὐδὲν ἁπλῶς οὐδὲ εἰκῇ παρέρχεται. ἢ ὅτι τὰ μὲν ἄλλα δῆλά ἐστιν, ἡ δὲ οἰκονομία ἄδηλος τοῦ θεοῦ. ἀργύριον μὲν γὰρ καὶ χαλκὸς τόπον ἔχει, τῆς δὲ σοφίας τόπον οὐδεὶς ἔγνω, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς μόνος οἶδε τὴν σοφίαν. ἀνθρώποις δὲ εἶπεν, ὅτι ἡ θεοσέβειά ἐστι σοφία καὶ τὸ καλὰ πράττειν ἐπιστήμη. τάξιν ἔθετο σκότει, φησίν. καλῶς εἶπε τάξιν. οἶδε παραχωρεῖν καὶ ὑπεξίστασθαι. τίς ἀπελαύνει τὸν ζόφον ἐκεῖνον; πόθεν εὐταξία τοιαύτη ἐν πράγματι τοιούτῳ; εἶτα τὴν δύναμιν, εἶτα τὴν σοφίαν αὐτοῦ διηγεῖται πείθων μὴ θέλειν ἀπαιτεῖν αὐτὸν εὐθύνας. «διὰ τί σκότος», φησίν, «μὴ ἴσμεν. πάντα δύναται, πάντα σοφῶς ποιεῖ.» εἶτα πολλὰ τὰ μεταξὺ εἰπών φησιν· 28,28a ἰδοὺ ἡ θεοσέβειά ἐστι σοφία, 28b τὸ δὲ ἀπέχεσθαι ἀπὸ κακῶν ἐστιν ἐπιστήμη. οὐδὲν ταύτης τῆς τέχνης ἴσον, οὐδὲν ταύτης τῆς σοφίας δυνατώτερον. ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος κυρίου, σύνεσις δὲ ἀγαθὴ πᾶσι τοῖς ποιοῦσι αὐτήν. τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ μέγιστον ἀγαθόν, τοῦτο ἡ μεγίστη σοφία, τὸ θεοσεβεῖν, οὐ τὸ περιεργάζεσθαι καὶ ψήφους τιθέναι καὶ εὐθύνας ἀπαιτεῖν τῶν γινομένων. μὴ δὴ ἑτέραν νομίζετε σοφίαν εὑρίσκειν. 149

29,1 ΠΡΟΣΘΕΙΣ ∆Ε ΙΩΒ ΛΕΓΕΙ ΤΩ ΠΡΟΟΙΜΙΩ· 29,2a τίς ἄν με θείη μῆνα κατὰ

μῆνα ἡμερῶν τῶν ἔμπροσθεν; τί ἐστιν· προσθεὶς τῷ προοιμίῳ; οὐ τελειοῖ τοὺς λόγους, ἀλλὰ εἰς ἀρχὴν πάλιν ἀνήγαγε μὴ συγχωρῶν διακόπτειν ἐκείνοις μηδὲ εἰς ἀντιλογίαν καθιέναι. τί οὖν φησιν; «ἐβουλόμην γίνεσθαι μῆνα ἐπὶ τῆς εὐπραγίας τῆς παλαιᾶς, ὥστε ὑμῶν ἐμφράξαι τὰ στόματα, ὥστε δειχθῆναι, τίς ἤμην.» μῆνα ἕνα κατὰ μῆνα ἡμερῶν τῶν ἔμπροσθεν. οὐδὲν μέγα ἐζήτησεν, τριάκοντα ἡμέρας μόνον γενέσθαι ἐπὶ τῶν προτέρων ἀγαθῶν καὶ τῆς εὐθηνίας ἀπολαῦσαι ἐκείνης, ἣν οὐδεὶς οὐδέπω παραστῆσαι δύναται. εἶτα ἐπεξέρχεται τῷ λόγῳ. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τοῦτο ἀδύνατον ἦν, κατὰ δύναμιν αὐτῷ τῷ λόγῳ παρίστησι καὶ λέγει, τίνα ἐποίει καὶ ἐν τίσιν ἦν τὸ πρότερον. ὅρα τὴν εὐσέβειαν τοῦ ἀνδρός· τὸ πᾶν τῷ θεῷ ἀνατίθησιν. οὐ γὰρ ἔστι τῆς ἄνωθεν ἀπεστερημένον ῥοπῆς δυνηθῆναι στῆναί ποτε. 29,2a ἡμερῶν, φησίν, 2b ὧν ὁ θεὸς ἐφύλαττέ με, 29,3a ὡς ὅτε ηὔγει ὁ λύχνος αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς μου, 3b ὅτε ἐν τῷ φωτὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπορευόμην ἐν σκότει, 29,4a ὅτε ἤμην ἐπιβρίθων ὁδοῖς, 4b ὅτε ὁ κύριος ἐπισκοπὴν ἐποιεῖτο τοῦ οἴκου μου, 29,5a ὅτε ἤμην ὑλώδης λίαν, 5b κύκλῳ δέ μου οἱ παῖδες. ὅτι γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο ἐζήτει τὴν προτέραν εὐπραγίαν, ἵνα δειχθῇ τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ πρόνοια, δῆλον ἐκ τοῦ λέγειν· ὅτε ὁ θεὸς ἐφύλαττέ με. εἶτα λέγει τῆς φυλακῆς αὐτοῦ τὰ τεκμήρια· ὅτε ηὔγει, φησίν, ὁ λύχνος ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς μου. τουτέστιν· τὸ φῶς. καὶ τὸν λύχνον μου φωτιεῖς· λύχνου γὰρ ὄντως χρεία. τοσοῦτόν ἐστι τὸ σκότος τὸ παρόν, τοσαῦται τῶν πραγμάτων αἱ περιστάσεις, τῶν σωματικῶν παθῶν αἱ ἐπαναστάσεις, πονηρῶν ἀνθρώπων αἱ ἐπιβουλαί, δαι150 μόνων ἀγρίων μάχαι καὶ στάσεις, ὥστε τοῦτον αὐτὸν δεῖξαι. ὅτε ἐν τῷ φωτὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπορευόμην ἐν σκότει. ὁρᾷς, ὅτι σκότος τὰ πάντα κατέχει; καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει. ἀλλ' ὥσπερ τοῦτο τὸ σκότος χρήσιμον πρὸς ἀνάπαυσιν, οὕτως ἐκεῖνο χρήσιμον ἡμῖν οὐ παρὰ τὴν