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To speak simply, the whole life of men is a trial, as the great Job himself taught us, having been trained through all contests, through the weapons of righteousness, on the right hand and on the left, through glory and dishonor, as the holy apostle somewhere said. And when he was rich, he was a common treasury for those in need, and being glorious and clothed with power, an aid to the powerless. Wealth did not move him to extravagance, nor did prominence beget arrogance. Thus having bravely leaped over the first hurdles, he stripped for the second and more difficult contests by the permission of God, arraying himself generally against all the villainy of the devil at once; and he who had reigned among the simply girded, he who had many children and was glorious and flowed with wealth from every side, was cast upon the dung heap, poor, inglorious, worthless, mocked, covered with sores, flowing with ichor, surpassing in misery all who had been before and all those whom 330 life afterwards saw tested by misfortunes. And an addition to his evils became also the discourse of his friends, which, instead of words of comfort, worked in him an increase of despondency and pain. But when the great athlete had gone through all the wrestling-bouts according to the rules, and lawfully bound upon himself the just prize of the crown. Then, yes then, he hears the divine voice, proclaiming on the one hand his noble contests—‘For this reason,’ it says, ‘I allowed you to box with the beast, that you might be shown to be righteous’—and on the other hand raising up a statue of him, of patience and comfort, for the whole race of men. For if someone has become poor from being rich, he has Job for a comfort; or obscure from being prominent, looking to him he is relieved of his sorrows; and if childless from having beautiful and many children, he is taught to say: The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. And if he should be covered with sores and be provoked to unseemly words by a foolish wife, he will rebuke the one advising these things, and will say with endurance and at the same time with forbearance: I await a little while longer, expecting the hope of my salvation. Therefore the story of Job is a medicine of comfort against every kind of despondency; and no one is shocked when falling into incurable misfortune, not even if those perfectly joined to him in friendship should trample upon him as he lies prostrate and reproach him. Therefore let us too bear in mind, that those who contend well are at times also deemed worthy of a divine address, let us not, being rich, act insolently through satiety, let us not fall down in misfortunes, but all things that happen to us, of whatever kind they may be, let us receive as matter 331 for virtue. But now at last let us hearken to the divine discourse, having considered briefly, according to the power measured out to us from the divine gift, for what reason God used such words to Job. Therefore, while his friends on the one hand held excellent opinions about God and of his wisdom and power and magnificence, but on the other hand declared that men suffer entirely because of sins, and were ignorant of the manner of the bringing on of temptations for training, and used their words neither at the right time nor to such a person the blessed Job, on the one hand, also himself excellently and most perfectly proclaimed magnificently concerning God's wisdom and power, but being true and guileless and conscious of nothing in himself worthy of so many blows, he did not agree with his friends who said that he was indeed being punished for sins. Nevertheless, he himself also was ignorant of the reason for his own contest; wherefore Elihu, coming into their midst, on the one hand does not condemn the righteous man, nor does he declare that his afflictions were brought upon him because of sins—in this respect being better than the friends—but not understanding Job's thought, from which he uttered words that seemed to be accusatory {against God}, he finds fault with Job as one speaking words without understanding; and Elihu also nobly and wonderfully reported the things concerning God's wisdom and power. Therefore, with all of them likewise nobly and orthodoxly marveling at the divine providence and power, but being ignorant of the reason 332 concerning Job and that

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ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὅλος ὁ βίος πειρατήριόν ἐστιν, ὡς αὐτὸς ἡμᾶς ὁ μέγας Ἰὼβ ἐπαίδευσε διὰ πάντων τῶν ἀγωνισμάτων ἐγγεγυμνασμένος, διὰ τῶν ὅπλων τῆς δικαιοσύνης, τῶν δεξιῶν καὶ ἀριστερῶν, διὰ δόξης καὶ ἀτιμίας, ὥς που ὁ ἱερὸς ἀπόστολος ἔφη. καὶ πλούσιος μὲν ὢν κοινὸς ὑπῆρχε τῶν δεομένων θησαυρός, ἔνδοξος δὲ καὶ δύναμιν περιβεβλημένος τῶν ἀδυνάτων ἐπίκουρος. οὐχ ὁ πλοῦτος αὐτὸν εἰς ἐξιτηλίαν ἐκίνησεν, οὐχ ἡ περιφάνεια τὴν ἀλαζονείαν ἔτεκεν. οὕτως ἀνδρείως τὰ πρῶτα πηδήσας σκάμματα ἐπὶ τοὺς δευτέρους καὶ χαλεπωτέρους ἀγῶνας ἐπαπεδύσατο συγχωρήσει θεοῦ πρὸς ὅλην ἀθρόως τοῦ διαβόλου τὴν κακουργίαν γενικῶς ἀντιταξάμενος· καὶ βασιλεύσας ἐν μονοζώνοις ὁ πολύπαις καὶ ἔνδοξος καὶ τῷ πλούτῳ πανταχόθεν περιρρεόμενος ἐπὶ τῆς κοπρίας παρέρριπτο, πένης, ἄδοξος, εὐτελής, καταγελώμενος, εἱλκωμένος, ἰχῶρας ῥέων, πάντας νικήσας τῇ ταλαιπωρίᾳ τοὺς πρότερον γεγενημένους καὶ ὅσους 330 ὕστερον εἶδεν ὁ βίος ἐν συμφοραῖς ἐξεταζομένους. προσθήκη δὲ αὐτῷ γέγονε τῶν κακῶν καὶ ἡ τῶν φίλων διάλεξις ἀντὶ λόγων παρακλητικῶν ἀθυμίας αὐτῷ καὶ ὀδύνης ἐπίτασιν ἀπεργασαμένη. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὁ μέγας ἀθλητὴς ἅπαντα νομίμως διεξῆλθε τὰ παλαίσματα, καὶ τὴν περὶ τοῦ στεφάνου δίκην ἐνθέσμως ἀνεδήσατο. τότε δὴ τότε τῆς θείας ἀκροᾶται φωνῆς ἀναγορευούσης μὲν αὐτοῦ τοὺς καλοὺς ἀγῶναςἐπὶ τούτῳ γάρ, φησίν, συνεχώρουν σε τῷ θηρίῳ πυκτεύειν, ἵνα ἀναφανῇς δίκαιος, ἀνδριάντα δὲ αὐτὸν ὑπομονῆς καὶ παρακλήσεως τῷ παντὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀνιστώσης γένει. εἴτε γάρ τις ἐκ πλουσίου γεγένηται πένης, τὸν Ἰὼβ ἔχει παράκλησιν, εἴτε καὶ ἀφανὴς ἐκ περιφανείας, πρὸς αὐτὸν βλέπων ἐπικουφίζεται τὰ λυπηρά, εἰ δὲ καὶ ἄπαις ἐκ καλλίπαιδος ὁμοῦ καὶ πολύπαιδος, διδάσκεται λέγειν· ὁ κύριος ἔδωκεν, ὁ κύριος ἀφείλατο. εἰ δὲ καὶ εἱλκωμένος εἴη καὶ ὑπ' ἀνοίας γυναικὸς εἰς ἀτόπους ἐρεθίζοιτο λόγους, ἐπιτιμήσει μὲν τῇ ταῦτα συμβουλευούσῃ, καρτερικῶς δὲ ὁμοῦ καὶ ἀνεξικάκως ἐρεῖ· ἀναμένω χρόνον ἔτι μικρὸν προσδεχόμενος τὴν ἐλπίδα τῆς σωτηρίας μου. ἔστιν οὖν παρακλήσεως φάρμακον πρὸς παντοδαπὴν ἀθυμίαν ἡ κατὰ τὸν Ἰὼβ ὑπόθεσις· καὶ οὐ ξενίζεταί τις ἀνηκέστῳ περιπίπτων συμφορᾷ, οὐδ' ἂν οἱ ἄκρως αὐτῷ πρὸς φιλίαν συνηρμοσμένοι ἐπεμβαίνωσι κειμένῳ καὶ ὀνειδίζωσιν. ἐνθυμούμενοι καὶ ἡμεῖς τοιγαροῦν, ὡς οἱ καλῶς ἀγωνιζόμενοι ἐσθότε καὶ θείας ἀξιοῦνται προσρήσεως, μὴ διὰ τὸν κόρον πλουτοῦντες ὑβρίσωμεν, μὴ καταπέσωμεν ἐν συμφοραῖς, ἀλλὰ πάντα ἡμῖν τὰ συμβαίνοντα, ὁποῖα ποτὲ ἃν ὦσιν, ὕλην ἀρετῆς ἐκ 331 δεξώμεθα. ἀλλ' ἤδη λοιπὸν τῆς θείας ἀκροάσεως ἐπακούσωμεν διὰ βραχέων ἐπισκεψάμενοι κατὰ τὴν ἐκ τῆς θείας δωρεᾶς ἐπιμετρουμένην ἡμῖν δύναμιν, δι' ἣν αἰτίαν τοιούτοις θεὸς πρὸς τὸν Ἰὼβ κέχρηται ῥήμασιν. τῶν φίλων τοιγαροῦν ἄριστα μὲν τὰ περὶ θεοῦ δοξαζόντων καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ σοφίας καὶ δυνάμεως καὶ μεγαλοπρεπείας, ἀποφαινομένων δέ, ὡς πάντως δι' ἁμαρτίας πάσχουσιν ἄνθρωποι, καὶ ἀγνοούντων τὸν τρόπον τῆς γυμναστικῆς τῶν πειρασμῶν ἐπαγωγῆς, οὐκ ἐν καιρῷ δὲ οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τοιούτου προσώπου τοῖς λόγοις χρωμένων ὁ μακάριος Ἰὼβ ἄριστα μὲν καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ τελεώτατα περὶ θεοῦ σοφίας καὶ δυνάμεως μεγαλοπρεπῶς ἐξαγγέλλει, ἀληθινὸς δὲ ὢν καὶ ἄκακος καὶ οὐδὲν ἑαυτῷ συνειδὼς τῶν τοσούτων πληγῶν ἄξιον οὐ συνετίθετο τοῖς φίλοις λέγουσιν, ὅτι δῆτα δι' ἁμαρτίας κολάζεται. πλὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸς ἠγνόει τοῦ καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἀγῶνος τὴν ὑπόθεσιν· ὅθεν ὁ Ἐλιοὺς εἰς μέσον παρελθὼν οὐ καταδικάζει μὲν τὸν δίκαιον, οὐδὲ ἀποφαίνεται δι' ἁμαρτίας αὐτῷ τὰς κακώσεις ἐπενηνέχθαικατὰ τοῦτο μὲν τῶν φίλων καλλίων γενόμενος, οὐ νοήσας δὲ τοῦ Ἰὼβ τὴν ἔννοιαν, ἐξ' ἧς τοὺς δοκοῦντας εἶναι κατηγορικοὺς {κατὰ θεοῦ} προέφερε λόγους, καταμέμφεται τὸν Ἰὼβ ὡς ἀσύνετα ῥήματα λαλοῦντα· καλῶς δὲ καὶ ὁ Ἐλιοὺς καὶ θαυμασίως τὰ περὶ θεοῦ σοφίας καὶ δυνάμεως ἀπήγγειλεν. πάντων οὖν ὁμοίως καλῶς καὶ ὀρθοδοξαστικῶς τὴν θείαν πρόνοιαν καὶ δύναμιν ἀποθαυμαζόντων, ἀγνοούντων δὲ τὴν κατὰ τὸν Ἰὼβ ὑπό 332 θεσιν καὶ ὅτι