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able. 25, 5 If he gives orders to the moon, and it does not shine. gives orders instead of: he commands. By this he signifies the power of God. For at the end of time he will command the moon and it will not radiate its own light. 25, 5 and stars are not pure before him. There is a light purer than light; for instance, the light of the stars is purer than ours, than that of charcoal, than that from fire. So, he says, compared to the divine purity not even the light of the stars is pure. 25, 6 How much less, man is corruption and the son of man a worm. "How much less" instead of: it is superfluous even to think about man, for he is entirely corruption and a worm writhing in corruption. For the mind of man is set on evil from his youth. But he said these things, making his argument from what is left over and striking at Job as one priding himself on his purity. For if none, he says, of the creations can be proud of its purity, how much more man, who is no different from corruption and a worm. 218 CHAPTER NINETEEN Beginning of the saying: And Job answered and said: To whom do you attach yourself, or whom are you about to help? Is it not he who has much strength and a mighty arm? Preface to the chapter Since Bildad discoursed on the wisdom and power of God like some advocate for God, the blessed Job answers him and says: Why are you eager to advocate for God as if he needed an argument from words, so that he might be shown to be wise and powerful? Then, to show that he glorifies what concerns God more beautifully and loftily than they, he discourses in greater detail about His wisdom and hymns the incomprehensible power of God and prophesies about the only-begotten and foretells the overthrow of the tyrannical power of the devil. And having prefaced these things he says: It is impossible for me, whatever I may suffer, to speak any lawless thing about God, until I reach death; and he confirms the promise with an oath. Then, speaking freely with a clear conscience, he says that he himself is not conscious of having done anything wrong, but divine justice will judge the ungodly. And again he takes up the divine wisdom that is seen in the divine creations and sown among rational beings, and he declares being wise to be more honorable than all things. And having discoursed at length on this God-given wisdom and having taught that nothing can be compared to it, he also says this, that the fame of wisdom has been spread to all, but to find the words concerning it is impossible; and he delivers a most beautiful lesson, that it is sufficient for a man, in order to be 219 wise, not to seek the unsearchable things, but to fear God and to abstain from every kind of evil, and he defines this to be the attainment of wisdom and knowledge. And he went through these things, on the one hand glorifying what concerns God well, and on the other hand persuading his friends not to suppose at all that he suffers because of sins, but to leave arguments about such things to the unsearchable judgments of God. And he discourses, as I said, about wisdom, not the hypostatic Logos, that is, the only-begotten Son of God; for even if he himself is called wisdom and is of the Father, the discourse is not now about him, but about the natural activity of the rational beings made by God, which consists of a God-loving and good-loving choice, which the creator sowed among rational beings. And if even this which is given to us by participation is incomparable and of so great a worth, what should one think about Wisdom itself, the essential wisdom, the only-begotten Son of God who is consubstantial with the Father, the paternal wisdom, the hypostatic Logos, through whom we too become rational and wise by participation and sharing through the Holy Spirit and are called so, being made wise by divine grace? The words 26, 2 To whom do you attach yourself, or whom are you about to help? Is it not he who has much strength and a strong arm? To whom do you contribute your own power and align yourself with his party, or for whom are you eager to advocate as one in need of your assistance? Away with you, man, we all know that God is without need and all-powerful. 2 26, 3 To whom have you given counsel? Is it not to him who has all

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δυνάμενοι. 25, 5 εἰ σελήνῃ συντάσσει, καὶ οὐκ ἐπιφαύσκει. συντάσσει ἀντὶ τοῦ· παραγγέλλει. σημαίνει διὰ τούτου τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ δύναμιν. καὶ γὰρ πρὸς τῇ συντελείᾳ κελεύει τῇ σελήνῃ καὶ τὸ οἰκεῖον οὐκ ἐκλάμπει σέλας. 25, 5 ἄστρα δὲ οὐ καθαρὰ ἐναντίον αὐτοῦ. ἔστι φῶς φωτὸς καθαρώτερον· αὐτίκα γοῦν τὸ ἀστρῷον φῶς τοῦ παρ' ἡμῖν, τοῦ ἀνθρακώδους, τοῦ ἐκ πυρός, καθαρώτερον τυγχάνει. πρὸς οὖν, φησίν, τὴν θείαν καθαρότητα οὐδὲ τῶν ἄστρων τὸ φῶς τυγχάνει καθαρόν. 25, 6 ἔα δέ, ἄνθρωπος σαπρία καὶ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου σκώληξ. ἔα δὲ ἀντὶ τοῦ· περιττὸν καὶ λογίσασθαι περὶ ἀνθρώπου, ὅλος γάρ ἐστι σαπρία καὶ σκώληξ περὶ τὴν σαπρίαν εἰλούμενος. ἔγκειται γὰρ ἡ διάνοια τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκ νεότητος ἐπὶ τὰ πονηρά. ταῦτα δὲ εἶπεν ἐκ τοῦ περιόντος κατασκευάζων τὸν λόγον καὶ πλήττων τὸν Ἰὼβ ὡς ἐπὶ καθαρότητι σεμνυνόμενον. εἰ γὰρ οὐδέν, φησίν, τῶν ποιημάτων μέγα φρονεῖν ἐπὶ καθαρότητι δύναται, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ ἄνθρωπος σαπρίας οὐδὲν διαφέρων καὶ σκώληκος. 218 ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ΕΝΝΕΑΚΑΙ∆ΕΚΑΤΟΝ Ἀρχὴ τοῦ ῥητοῦ· ὑπολαβὼν δὲ Ἰὼβ λέγει· τίνι πρόσκεισαι ἢ τίνι μέλλεις βοηθεῖν; πότερον οὐχ ᾧ πολλὴ ἰσχὺς καὶ ᾧ βραχίων κραταιός ἐστιν; Προθεωρία τοῦ κεφαλαίου ἐπειδὴ περὶ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ σοφίας καὶ δυνάμεως ὁ Βαλδὰδ διελέχθη οἷά τις θεοῦ συνήγορος, πρὸς τοῦτο ὁ μακάριος Ἰὼβ ἀπαντᾷ καί φησιν· τί συνηγορεῖν σπουδάζεις θεῷ ὡς δεομένῳ τῆς ἐκ λόγων κατασκευῆς, ἵνα δειχθῇ σοφὸς καὶ δυνατός; εἶτα, ἵνα δείξῃ, ὅτι κάλλιον αὐτῶν καὶ ὑψηλότερον δοξάζει τὰ περὶ θεοῦ, περὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ σοφίας διεξοδικώτερον διαλέγεται καὶ ὑμνεῖ τὴν ἀκατάληπτον τοῦ θεοῦ δύναμιν καὶ προφητεύει περὶ τοῦ μονογενοῦς καὶ τὴν τυραννικὴν τοῦ διαβόλου καθαίρεσιν προλέγει. ταῦτα δὲ προοιμιασάμενός φησιν ὅτι· ἀμήχανόν με, πᾶν ὅ τι ἂν πάθω, ἄνομά τινα λαλῆσαι περὶ θεοῦ, ἕως ἂν εἰς θάνατον φθάσω· καὶ ὅρκῳ πιστοῦται τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν. εἶτα καὶ μετὰ καθαρᾶς συνειδήσεως παρρησιασάμενος λέγει, ὅτι αὐτὸς μὲν οὐδὲν ἑαυτῷ σύνοιδεν ἄτοπον πράξαντι, διαλήψεται δὲ ἡ θεία δίκη τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς. καὶ πάλιν ἀναλαμβάνει ἅτε δὴ τῆς θείας σοφίας τῆς ἐν τοῖς θείοις δημιουργήμασι φαινομένης καὶ ἐν τοῖς λογικοῖς κατεσπαρμένης καὶ τὸ σοφὸν εἶναι πάντων ἀποφαίνει τιμιώτερον. πολλὰ δὲ περὶ τῆς θεοδωρήτου ταύτης σοφίας διεξελθὼν καὶ ὡς οὐδὲν αὐτῇ παραβληθήσεται διδάξας καὶ τοῦτό φησιν, ὡς τὸ μὲν κλέος τῆς σοφίας εἰς πάντας διαδέδοται, τοὺς δὲ περὶ αὐτῆς λόγους εὑρεῖν ἀμήχανον· καὶ μάθημα παραδίδωσι κάλλιστον, ὅτι ἀρκεῖ ἀνθρώπῳ εἰς τὸ εἶναι 219 σοφὸν οὐ τὸ ζητεῖν τὰ ἀνεξερεύνητα, ἀλλὰ τὸ θεοσεβεῖν καὶ παντὸς εἴδους κακίας ἀπέχεσθαι, καὶ ταύτην ἀνάληψιν σοφίας καὶ ἐπιστήμης εἶναι ὁρίζεται. ταῦτα δὲ διεξῆλθεν ὁμοῦ μὲν τὰ περὶ θεοῦ δοξάζων καλῶς, ὁμοῦ δὲ καὶ τοὺς φίλους πείθων μὴ πάντως οἴεσθαι δι' ἁμαρτίας αὐτὸν πάσχειν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς περὶ τῶν τοιούτων λόγους τοῖς ἀνεξιχνιάστοις τοῦ θεοῦ καταλιμπάνειν κρίμασιν. διαλέγεται δέ, ὡς ἔφην, περὶ σοφίας οὐ τοῦ ἐνυποστάτου λόγου, τουτέστι τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ· εἰ γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς σοφία καλεῖται καὶ ἔστι τοῦ πατρός, ἀλλ' οὐ περὶ αὐτοῦ νῦν ὁ λόγος, ἀλλὰ περὶ τῆς κατὰ φύσιν ἐνεργείας τῶν ὑπὸ θεοῦ πεποιημένων λογικῶν συνισταμένης φιλόθεον καὶ φιλάγαθον προαίρεσιν, ἢν ἐν τοῖς λογικοῖς κατέσπειρεν ὁ δημιουργός. εἰ δὲ καὶ αὕτη ἀσύγκριτος καὶ τοσούτου ἀξία ἡ κατὰ μετοχὴν ἡμῖν δεδομένη, τί ἐννοῆσαι προσήκει περὶ τῆς αὐτοσοφίας, τῆς οὐσιώδους σοφίας, τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ὁμοουσίου τῷ πατρί, τῆς πατρικῆς σοφίας, τοῦ λόγου τοῦ ἐνυποστάτου, δι' οὗ καὶ ἡμεῖς λογικοὶ καὶ σοφοὶ κατὰ μετάληψιν καὶ μετοχὴν δι' ἁγίου πνεύματος γινόμεθά τε καὶ καλούμεθα τῇ θείᾳ χάριτι σοφιζόμενοι; Αἱ λέξεις 26, 2 τίνι πρόσκεισαι ἢ τίνι μέλλεις βοηθεῖν; πότερον οὐχ ᾧ πολλὴ ἰσχὺς καὶ ᾧ βραχίων ἰσχυρός ἐστιν; τίνι τὴν παρὰ σαυτοῦ δύναμιν εἰσφέρεις καὶ τῇ αὐτοῦ συντάσσεις σαυτὸν μερίδι ἢ τίνι συνηγορεῖν σπουδάζεις ὡς τῆς σῆς ἐπικουρίας δεομένῳ; ἄπαγε, ἄνθρωπε, ἅπαντες ἴσμεν ὡς ἀνενδεής τε καὶ παντοδύναμός ἐστιν ὁ θεός. 2 26, 3 τίνι συμβεβούλευσαι; οὐχ ᾧ πᾶσα