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the words in the book. But we, having found the book thus written in all the Greek copies, accept everything written in it just as we have received it from the fathers. 392 The words 42, 12 And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. The first things were not given to Job as prizes for virtue, but so that he might be trained in them, and his wealth was the subject of his contests. But since he struggled and became a teacher to all on how one ought to use wealth, then, having been deprived of his possessions, he lawfully struggled in the pits of poverty, the great judge of the contest gives him the doubling of his possessions as a reward for his virtue. 42, 1213 And his possessions were fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses of the herd. And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters. The irrational animals, since they were lost, were given twofold. But since the children who died were not lost, but live to God, the same number as the first were given, so that he would receive double the children of the former, with the first ones living and the second ones being born. 42, 14 And he called the first Day. I think that the blessed Job gave the names to his daughters as an indication of the good things given to him from God. Therefore he called the first Day, as if after a deep night of evils that had surrounded him, a bright day of prosperity given to him from God had shone upon him. 42, 14 And the second, Cassia. 393 As now being in a certain fragrance and enjoyment of good things, so he called the second. 42, 14 And the third, Horn of Amalthea. As all good things were now flowing to him from all sides, so he called the third. For the ancients called an abundance of good things the horn of Amalthea. From what cause, I cannot say; but the Greeks, fabricating myths, say that Amalthea was a certain goat, and that from the goat's horn flowed wine, honey, and milk, and whatever one might seek. But I fashion a more plausible myth, so as to resemble the truth; for I say that the goat called Amalthea, while digging up the earth with its horn, uncovered a hidden treasure, and that the goatherd immediately appeared rich from being poor, and thus the horn of Amalthea came to be named by men as a representation of happiness. It is possible to fashion countless other myths more plausible than the Greek ones, but those who care for the truth have no leisure to pay attention to these things. We know only this, that from of old the horn of Amalthea is taken to signify an abundance of good things, so that 394 even if scripture mentions sirens, or the valley of the Titans, or the famous Giants of old, we do not, because the Greeks mythologize about these things, reject the words of the sacred scripture, but to them we leave the myths and the fabrications and the old wives' tales, while we everywhere lay claim to the truth, from all sides procuring for ourselves from the God-inspired scripture things that are profitable for the soul. But if we must also consider something spiritual in these passages; when the morning star, the word of God, rises in our hearts, a day dawns upon us, and as we advance we become the fragrance of Christ, about which it is written: myrrh and stacte and cassia from your garments, and as we grow and come to perfection, then the horn of Amalthea, the abundance of spiritual gifts, is born in us. But if the written words also have some more mystical meaning, we leave it to those who are able to see more penetratingly and more loftily. 42, 15 And there were not found in comparison to the daughters of Job any better than them under heaven. And this is the happiness of fathers, to have beautiful and fair-faced children. For scripture praises the appearance of Sarah, and of 395 Joseph, and of David. But understand for me the beauty also in terms of the soul, so that "better" is to be understood of both soul and body. But according to the mind, there were three certain feats of valor for Job, according to which up to those times

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βιβλίῳ τὰ ῥήματα. ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς Ἑλληνικοῖς ἀντιγράφοις οὕτως εὑρηκότες γεγραμμένην τὴν βίβλον πάντα τὰ ἐγγεγραμμένα οὕτω δεχόμεθα ὡς παρὰ τῶν πατέρων εἰλήφαμεν. 392 Αἱ λέξεισ 42, 12 ὁ δὲ κύριος ηὐλόγησε τὰ ἔσχατα Ἰὼβ ἢ τὰ ἔμπροσθεν. τὰ μὲν πρῶτα οὐκ ἆθλα ἀρετῆς ἐδέδοτο τῷ Ἰὼβ, ἀλλ' ἵνα ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐγγυμνασθῇ, καὶ ἦν ὁ πλοῦτος αὐτῷ τῶν ἀγωνισμάτων ὑπόθεσις. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἠγωνίσατο καὶ διδάσκαλος ἅπασι γέγονεν, ὅπως προσήκει τῷ πλούτῳ χρήσασθαι, εἶτα καὶ ἀφαιρεθεὶς τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ἐν τοῖς τῆς πενίας νομίμως ἠγωνίσατο σκάμμασιν, γέρα τῆς ἀρετῆς τὸν διπλασιασμὸν τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ὁ μέγας ἀγωνοθέτης αὐτῷ δίδωσιν. 42, 1213 ἦν δὲ τὰ κτήνη αὐτοῦ πρόβατα μύρια τετρακισχίλια, κάμηλοι ἑξακισχίλιαι, ζεύγη βοῶν χίλια, ὄνοι θήλειαι νομάδες χίλιαι. γεννῶνται δὲ αὐτῷ υἱοὶ ἑπτὰ καὶ θυγατέρες τρεῖς. τὰ μὲν τῶν ἀλόγων ὡς ἀπολομένων διπλᾶ δέδοται. ἐπειδὴ δὲ οἱ παῖδες οἱ ἀποθανόντες οὐκ ἀπώλοντο, ἀλλὰ ζῶσι θεῷ, οὗτοι τοῖς προτέροις ἰσάριθμοι δέδονται, ὡς ἂν καὶ παῖδας ἀπολάβοι τῶν προτέρων διπλοῦς ζώντων μὲν τῶν προαπελθόντων, τῶν δὲ δευτέρων ἐπιγενομένων. 42, 14 καὶ ἐκάλεσε τὴν μὲν πρώτην Ἡμέραν. οἶμαι τὸν μακάριον Ἰὼβ εἰς ἔνδειξιν τῶν θεόθεν αὐτῷ δοθέντων ἀγαθῶν ταῖς θυγατράσι τεθηκέναι τὰς προσηγορίας. διὸ τὴν πρώτην Ἡμέραν ἐκάλεσεν ὡς ἀπό τινος βαθείας νυκτὸς τῶν περιστοιχισάντων αὐτὸν κακῶν ἡμέρας αὐτῷ φωτεινῆς ἐπιλαμψάσης θεόθεν αὐτῷ δοθείσης εὐημερίας. 42, 14 τὴν δὲ δευτέραν Κασίαν. 393 ὡς ἤδη λοιπὸν ἐν εὐωδίᾳ τινὶ καὶ ἀπολαύσει τῶν ἀγαθῶν γινόμενος, οὕτω τὴν δευτέραν ἐκάλεσεν. 42, 14 τὴν δὲ τρίτην Ἀμαλθείας κέρας. ὡς πάντων λοιπὸν πανταχόθεν περιρρεόντων αὐτῷ τῶν ἀγαθῶν οὕτω τὴν τρίτην ἐκάλεσεν. Ἀμαλθείας γὰρ κέρας οἱ παλαιοὶ τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀφθονίαν ἐκάλουν. ἐκ μὲν ποίας αἰτίας οὐκ ἔχω λέγειν· Ἕλληνες δὲ μύθους πλάττοντες λέγουσιν αἶγά τινα γεγενῆσθαι τὴν Ἀμάλθειαν, ῥεῖν δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ κέρατος τῆς αἰγὸς οἶνον, μέλι καὶ γάλα καὶ ὅτι ἂν ἐπιζητήσῃ. ἐγὼ δὲ πιθανώτερον ἀναπλάττω μῦθον ὡς ἐοικέναι τῇ ἀληθείᾳ· φημὶ γὰρ τὴν αἶγα τὴν λεγομένην Ἀμάλθειαν τὴν γῆν ἀνορύττουσαν τῷ κέρατι θησαυρὸν κεκρυμμένον ἀποκαλύψαι, τὸν δὲ αἰπόλον πλούσιον εὐθὺς ἐκ πένητος ἀναφανῆναι καὶ οὕτω τῆς Ἀμαλθείας τὸ κέρας εἰς παράστασιν εὐδαιμονίας πρὸς ἀνθρώπων ὀνομάζεσθαι. ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλους μυρίους ἀναπλάσαι μύθους τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν πιθανωτέρους, ἀλλ' οὐ σχολή γε τοῖς τῆς ἀληθείας ἐπιμεληταῖς τούτοις προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν. ἴσμεν δὲ μόνον, ὅτι ἐκ παλαιοῦ τῆς Ἀμαλθείας τὸ κέρας εἰς δήλωσιν ἀφθόνων ἀγαθῶν ἐκλαμβάνεται, ὥστε 394 κἂν σειρήνων ἡ γραφὴ μέμνηται, κἂν κοιλάδος Τιτάνων, κἂν Γιγάντων τῶν ἀπ' αἰῶνος ὀνομαστῶν, οὐκ, ἐπειδή τινα περὶ τούτων Ἕλληνες μυθολογοῦσιν, τὰ τῆς ἱερᾶς ἀθετοῦμεν γραφῆς ῥήματα, ἀλλ' ἐκείνοις μὲν τοὺς μύθους καὶ τὰ πλάσματα καὶ τὰ γραώδη σοφίσματα καταλιμπάνομεν, ἡμεῖς δὲ πανταχοῦ τῆς ἀληθείας μεταποιούμεθα πανταχόθεν ἑαυτοῖς ἐκ τῆς θεοπνεύστου γραφῆς τὰ ψυχωφελῆ ποριζόμενοι. εἰ δὲ δεῖ τι καὶ πνευματικὸν θεωρῆσαι ἐν τοῖς τόποις· ὅταν ὁ φωσφόρος τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν ἀνατείλῃ, ἡμέρα ἡμῖν ἐπιλάμπει, προκόπτοντες δὲ Χριστοῦ εὐωδία γινόμεθα, περὶ οὗ γέγραπται· σμύρνα καὶ στακτὴ καὶ κασία ἀπὸ τῶν ἱματίων σου, αὐξανομένοις δὲ καὶ εἰς τελείωσιν ἐρχομένοις τότε καὶ Ἀμαλθείας κέρας ἡμῖν ἐγγίνεται ἡ τῶν πνευματικῶν χαρισμάτων ἀφθονία. εἰ δὲ καί τινα μυστικώτερον ἔχουσι λόγον τὰ γεγραμμένα, τοῖς διαβατικώτερον καὶ ὑψηλότερον θεωρεῖν δυναμένοις καταλιμπάνομεν. 42, 15 καὶ οὐχ εὑρέθησαν κατὰ τὰς θυγατέρας Ἰὼβ βελτίους αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ ὑπ' οὐρανόν. καὶ τοῦτο πατέρων εὐδαιμονία, τὸ τέκνα ὡραῖα καὶ εὐπρόσωπα κεκτῆσθαι. καὶ γὰρ καὶ τῆς Σάρας ἐπαινεῖ τὴν ὄψιν ἡ γραφὴ καὶ τοῦ 395 Ἰωσὴφ καὶ τοῦ ∆αυίδ. νόει μοι δὲ τὸ κάλλος καὶ κατὰ ψυχήν, ὥστε τὸ βελτίους ἐπί τε ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος ἐκλαμβάνεσθαι. πρὸς δὲ διάνοιαν τρεῖς τινες ἀριστεῖαι τῷ Ἰὼβ γεγόνασιν, καθ' ἃς μέχρι τῶν καιρῶν ἐκείνων