Didymus the Blind, Commentaries on Job

He responds to the word spoken of discernment, teaching that not in every case will the one who prays obtain, nor is it fitting to ask God for everything "with unwashed hands"; for he who rightly sends up prayer to God deems it worthy to receive those things that are profitable for him and fitting for the one bestowing the grace. For since the form of goods is twofold—some are goods in the proper sense, the virtues, and others are pleasant and considered goods—one must not ask God for the things that are considered so at the wrong time, but for the goods in the proper sense; by God's judgment we are either delivered from grievous things or we are held in them. But the earnest man also wisely asks for the goods in the proper sense, such as spiritual gifts, knowing that "to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of the Spirit." At any rate, some often say: how ... ... a "gift of healing" or something else, a "word," I say, "of knowledge" and the rest? But they say these things, being ignorant that these things come from God for a good purpose. For not all make good use of what they have. 248 He therefore responds to the assumption of these, of his friends I mean, teaching again hypothetically how one must pray. For if, he says, when I have called through prayer for those things which are considered pleasant, He should hearken, there is a fear lest, because I do not know the cause of the things given, which is veiled in obscurity—for this the darkness signifies—He might be rubbing me out, that is, sending me away from the ...; so that one must make the supplication to God as is fitting. For if God grants the request, He does not in every case grant it according to the manner of the request, but according to the reason which He knows is profitable. And that the darkness signifies obscurity, it is possible to show clearly also from other scriptures: "Moses," it says, "entered into the darkness, where God was." And the word concerning God is not easily discovered nor clear nor knowable, but into this Moses entered as one who was able. But also in the seventeenth psalm it is said concerning the Savior: "And he bowed the heaven and came down, and darkness was about his feet." For the course of the descent is clear only in this, that he came to dwell among us, but the knowledge is not clear, for what reason at this particular time. What the blessed Job says in his hypothesis is this, that even if I should call boldly 249 and he should hearken, there is a fear lest by the obscurity of the matters I might suffer destruction. And he has made many of my shatterings for naught; for he does not allow me to take breath, but has filled me with bitterness. Again, he says all these things with respect to their own assumption. For if you say I have received a penalty on account of sins, and the penalty remains, not allowing me to take breath, how can I escape the charge of having lived badly? For according to you, the things brought upon me have happened in vain, if indeed I am punished while conscious of no sin in myself, and the means of correction are unaccomplished because there is no time for remission. For that he is strong in might, who then shall stand against his judgment? If "in might" is a noun, "he is strong" is a verb; that he is strong in might. But if "strength" is a noun, it would be thus: he prevails by strength; for this is a verb. However it may be, the same thing is signified: for God prevails by being strong and is strong by prevailing, he is strong by being king and is king by being strong. For this very reason one must not say that he is strong through our sins so that he exercises authority; nor do you yourselves suppose this, and not having sinned 250 ... has authority ... as one who knows what is profitable; for I know him to be a king. And it is not the part of a king to rule lawlessly, nor, proposing some things, does he do others through weakness; for the Lord is "righteous, strong, and long-suffering," wherefore no one "shall stand against his judgment," since no one is able to say, "What have you done?" as we set forth the apostolic word in the preceding parts: "Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, 'Why have you made me thus?'" For if I am righteous, my mouth will declare me ungodly. Being righteous, I ought not to say this very thing, that I am righteous; for the righteous man does not speak about himself as he would about another. Similar to this is, "I have become a fool; you have compelled me." For since his friends were positing that he suffers on account of sins, in a way he was compelled to say that it was not on account of

διακρίσεως εἰρημένην λέξιν ἀπαντᾷ παιδεύων, ὡς οὐ πάντως ὁ εὐχόμενος τεύξεται οὐδὲ "ἀνίπτοις χερσὶν" πάντα αἰτεῖν τὸν θεὸν προσήκει· ὁ γὰρ ὀρθῶς εὐχὴν ἀναπέμπων τῷ θεῷ ἐκεῖνα ἀξιοῖ λαβεῖν, ἃ αὐτῶι λυσιτελεῖ καὶ ἁρμόζει τῷ χαριζομένῳ. καὶ γὰρ ἐπεὶ διττὸν τὸ εἶδος τῶν ἀγαθῶν-τ̣ὰ μὲν κυρ»ί»ως ἀγαθά εἰσιν, αἱ ἀρεταί, τὰ δὲ ἡδέα καὶ νενομισμένα ἀγαθά-, οὐ δεῖ αἰτεῖν ἀκαίρως θεὸν τὰ νομιζόμενα, ἀλλὰ τὰ κυρίως ἀγαθά· θεοῦ ἐπικρίσει ἢ ἀπα̣λ̣λαττόμεθα ἀνιαρῶν ἢ ἐν αὐτοῖς ε᾿̣ν̣εχόμεθα. συνετῶς δὲ καὶ τὰ κυρίως ἀγαθά, οἷον χαρίσματα, αἰτεῖ ὁ σπουδαῖος εἰδώς, ὅτι "ἑκάστῳ δίδοται ἡ φανέρωσις τοῦ πνεύματος πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον τοῦ πνεύματος." πολλάκις γοῦν τι̣ν̣ε̣ς̣ λέγουσιν· πῶς ········λ̣ιτ̣ε̣υτο·· "χάρισμα ἰάσεως" ἢ ἕτερόν τι, "λόγον" φημὶ "γνώσεως" καὶ τὰ λοιπά; ἀλλὰ ταῦτα λέγουσιν ἀγνοοῦντες, ὅτι συμφερόντως παρὰ θεοῦ ταῦτα γίνεται. οὐ γὰρ πάντες τοῖς ὑπάρ248 χουσιν καλῶς χρῶνται. πρὸς τὴν τούτων̣ οὖν, τῶν φίλων λέγω, ὑπόλημψιν ἀποκρίνεται παιδεύων πάλιν ὑποθετικῶς, πῶς δεῖ προσεύχεσθαι. εἰ γάρ, φησίν, καλέσαντός μου διὰ προσευχῆς, ὧν νομίζεται ἡδέων, ὑπακούσῃ, δέος, μὴ διὰ τὸ μή με γιγνώσκειν τῶν δοθέντων τὴν αἰτίαν ἀσαφίᾳ καλυπτομένην- τοῦτο γὰρ ὁ γνόφος δηλοῖ-ἐκτρίβ̣ω̣ν̣ με ᾖ, ὅ ἐστιν ἀποπέμπων τοῦ ····· ··τος· ὥστε δεόντως δεῖ τὴν πρὸς θεὸν ποιεῖσθαι παράκλησιν. ἐὰν γὰρ δῷ θεὸς τὴν αἴτησιν, οὐ πάντως̣ κατὰ τὸν τρόπον τῆς αἰτήσεως δίδωσιν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ λόγον, ὅντινα οἶδε»ν̣» συμφέροντα. ὅτι δὲ ὁ γνόφος τὴν ἀσαφίαν δηλοῖ, ἔστι καὶ ἀπὸ ἄλλων γραφῶν σαφῶς παραστῆσαι· "εἰσῆλθεν", φησίν, "Μωσῆς εἰς τὸν γνόφον, οὗ ἦν ὁ θεός." κ̣αι`̣ ὁ περὶ θεοῦ λόγος οὐκ ἔστιν εὐφ̣ώρατος οὐδὲ σαφὴς οὐδὲ γνωστός, εἰς τοῦτον δ' εἰσῆλθε Μωσῆς ὡς δυνατός. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν ἑπτακαιδεκάτῳ ψαλμῷ περὶ τοῦ ςωτῆρος λέγεται· "καὶ ἔκλινεν οὐρανὸν καὶ κατέβη καὶ γνόφος περὶ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ." ἡ γὰρ π̣ορεία τῆς καθόδου α σαφής ἐστιν μόνον τούτοις μέν, ὅτι ἐπεδήμησεν, οὐ σαφὴς δὲ ἡ γνῶσις, διὰ τί ἐν τῷδε τῷ καιρῷ. ὅ φησιν ὁ μακάριος Ἰὼβ ἐν ὑποθέσει, τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὅτι εἰ καὶ τολμηρῶς 249 καλέσω καὶ ὑπακούσει, δέος, μὴ τῇ ἀσαφίᾳ τῶν πραγμάτων συντρι βὴν ὑπομείνω. πολλὰ δέ μου τὰ συντρίμματα πεποίηκεν διὰ κενῆς· οὐκ ἐᾷ γάρ με ἀναπνεῦσαι, ἐνέπλησεν δέ με πικρίας. πάλιν ταῦτα λέγει πρὸς τὴν αὐτῶν διάλημψιν ἅπαντα. εἰ γὰρ δι' ἁμαρτήματα λέγετέ με ἐπιτιμίαν ἐσχηκέναι, παραμένει δὲ ἡ ἐπιτιμία οὐκ ἐπιτρέπουσά μοι ουκ ἀναπ̣ν̣ε̣ῦσαι, πῶς δύναμαι διαδρᾶναι τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ κακῶς βεβιωκέναι. ματαίως γὰρ καθ' ὑμᾶς γέγονεν τὰ τῆς ἐπαγωγῆς, εἴ γε οὐδὲν ἐμαυτῷ συνειδὼς ὡς ἁμαρτὼν κολάζομαι, καὶ τὰ τῆς διορθώσεως δι̣ὰ τὸ μηδένα καιρὸν ἔχειν ἐν̣δ̣όσ̣εως ἀνήνυτα. ὅτι μὲν γὰρ ἰσχύει κράτει, τίς οὖν τῷ κρίματι αὐτοῦ ἀντιστήσεται; εἰ ὄνομά ἐστιν τὸ "κράτει", ῥῆμά ἐστιν τὸ "ἰσχύει"· ὅτι ἰσχύει ἐν τῷ κράτει. εἰ δὲ ἰσχὺς ὄνομα, οὕτως ἂν εἴη· τῇ ἰσχύι κρατεῖ· ῥῆμα τοῦτο γάρ. ὅπως δ' ἂν ἔχοι, τὸ αὐτὸ δηλοῦται· ἰσχύων γὰρ κρατ»ε»ῖ θεὸς καὶ κρατῶν ἰσχύει, βασιλεύων ἰσχύει καὶ ἰσχύων βασιλεύει. διά τοι τοῦτο οὐ λεκτέον, ὅτι δι' ἁμαρτήματα ἡμέτερα ἰσχύει ὥστε ἐξουσιάζων· μηδὲ τοῦτο ὑμεῖς τίθεσθε καὶ μὴ ἁμαρτόντες 250 μ···ρ̣··ο̣υ̣δ̣·ν̣· ἐξουσίαν ἔχει του····· · ω῾̣ς̣ ἐπιστάμενος τὸ σ̣υμφέρον̣· βασιλέα γὰρ αὐτὸν οἶδα. οὐκ ἔστιν δὲ βασιλέως τὸ παρανόμως ἄρχειν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἄλλα προτιθέμενος δι' ἀσθένειαν ἕτερα ποιεῖ· κύριος γὰρ "δίκαιος, ἰσχυρὸς καὶ μακρόθυμος", διόπερ οὐδεὶς "τῷ κρίματι αὐτοῦ ἀντιστήσεται" μηδενὸς δυναμένου εἰπεῖν· "τί ἐποίησας;" καθὰ προεθέμεθα τὸ ἀποστολικὸν ἐν τοῖς προλαβοῦσιν· "μὴ ἐρεῖ τὸ πλάσμα τῶι πλάσαντι· τί με ἐποίησας οὕτως;" ἐάν τε γὰρ ὦ δίκαιος, τὸ στόμα μου ἀσεβήσει. δίκαιος ὢν οὐκ ὤφειλον λέγειν αὐτὸ τοῦτο, ὅτι δίκαιός εἰμι· οὐ γὰρ περὶ αὑτοῦ ὁ δίκαιος ᾗ περὶ ἀ´̣λλου λέγει. τούτῳ ὅμοιον τὸ "γέγονα ἄφρων, ὑμεῖς με ἠναγκάσατε." τῶν γὰρ φίλων τιθεμένων, ὅτι δι' ἁμαρτίας πάσχει, τρόπον τινὰ ἠναγκάζετο λέγειν, ὅτι οὐ δι'