On Job (Homily 4)

A discourse on Job by Leontius, presbyter of Constantinople

Come now, friend, let us today also examine more genuinely with our discourse the inviolable treasure of the most noble Job; a treasure not imprisoned in a purse, but fortified in the heavens; a treasure not weighed by a quantity of money, but guarded by vigor of soul. Therefore it is necessary to be more watchful for the spiritual treasure than for the treasure of money, where robbers lie in wait and often keep watch, so that they might cause the master of the house to doze off and plunder the fugitive. But for the spiritual treasure, robbers do not lie in wait, but demons are sent alongside, to plunder the right reasoning, to lead astray the unadulterated faith, to scatter the wealth of patience. For a financial loss does not cause a man who truly loves God to become gloomy, but a desolation of thoughts. Therefore the Lord also, pointing out the great loss of the soul's destruction, said to his followers: What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? And again, expressly setting it forth to his disciples, he said: Watch and pray, because at an hour you do not know the thief is coming. And who is the thief? The one who watched over Job and found nothing, but returned empty-handed. Concerning the spiritual treasure, therefore, the Lord, exhorting, said: What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Knowing this clearly, the most noble Job despised all his possessions, so that he might not suffer spiritual loss; he disregarded his oxen, he did not disregard virtues; he despised his sheep, he did not disdain his right actions; he put off the grief for his children, he put on the glory of the saints. Therefore, when the devil saw Job secured on all sides and fortified more by God-loving works than by hewn stones, the devil reasoned with himself, saying: What shall I do? How shall I plunder Job's wealth? How shall I put him to sleep, a man tested in the affairs of life? He is rich and does not blaspheme; such a great retinue and nowhere a sin; he reigns and does not stumble, but reigns in all things. He is in a palace, and I am in the desert; he is called righteous and blameless and true, but I am called "serpent" and "scorpion" and "devil." What shall I do? I tempted Adam, I murdered Abel, I gained Cain, I consigned Noah to drunkenness, I made Ham a slave, I drove Jacob into exile, I deprived Esau of his birthright, and can I not find a way to shake Job? I have understood the matter, I know what I shall do; he is helped from above, and for this reason he is not thrust into harm. If the God over all had permitted me to stand with the angels, I was about to say to him: "Why is Job called blessed for nothing? He reveres you for a wage; you protect him, and for this reason he offers you a little thanksgiving." The devil, pondering these things to himself, added again, saying in himself: And as I was saying these things to the Lord, the Lord answered saying to me: "If for this reason you think Job is great, because of the abundance of his wealth, I give you the authority; reap his possessions, so that you may learn that he does not rely on riches but on right actions." If I had received this response from the Lord, and I knew for certain that he no longer supports Job, I would have made known to all present and to the one above all what a blasphemer Job is. Listen with understanding. These machinations of the devil in his mind against Job the divine scripture personified and

In Job (homilia 4)

Λεοντίου πρεσβυτέρου Κωνσταντινουπόλεως λόγος εἰς τὸν Ἰώβ Ἄγε δὴ καὶ σήμερον, φίλε, γνησιώτερον τοῦ γενναιοτάτου Ἰὼβ τὸν ἄσυλον θησαυρὸν διαψηλαφήσωμεν τῷ λόγῳ· θησαυρὸν οὐ βαλλαντίῳ πεφυλακισμένον , ἀλλ' ἐν οὐρανοῖς ὠχυρωμένον· θησαυρὸν οὐ χρηματικῇ ποσότητι σταθμιζόμενον , ἀλλὰ ψυχικῇ γοργότητι φυλαττόμενον. ∆ιὸ δεῖ τῷ ψυχικῷ θησαυρῷ μᾶλλον ἀγρυπνεῖν ἤπερ τῷ χρηματικῷ θησαυρῷ, ὅπου λῃσταὶ παρακαθέζονται καὶ πολλάκις ἐπαγρυπνοῦσιν, ὅπως τὸν οἰκοδεσπότην νυστάξαι παρασκευάσωσι καὶ τὸν δραπέτην συλήσωσιν. Τῷ δὲ ψυχικῷ θησαυρῷ λῃσταὶ οὐ παρακαθέζονται, ἀλλὰ δαίμονες παραπέμπονται, πῶς τὸν ὀρθὸν λογισμὸν ἀποσυλήσωσιν, πῶς τὴν ἀκίβδηλον πίστιν ἀποβουκολήσωσιν, πῶς τὸν πλοῦτον τῆς ὑπομονῆς διασκεδάσωσιν. Ἄνδρα γὰρ κυρίως φιλόθεον οὐ χρηματικὴ ζημία στυγνάσαι παρασκευάζει, ἀλλὰ λογισμῶν ἐρημία. ∆ιὸ καὶ ὁ κύριος μεγάλην ζημίαν τὴν ψυχικὴν ἀπώλειαν ὑπομνηματίζων ἔλεγε τοῖς ὑπηκόοις· Τί ὠφελήσει ἄνθρωπος ἐὰν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον κερδάνῃ, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ζημιωθῇ; Καὶ πάλιν τοῖς αὐτοῦ μαθηταῖς διαρρήδην ἐκτιθέμενος ἔλεγεν· Γρηγορεῖτε καὶ προσεύχεσθε, ὅτι ᾗ οὐκ οἴδατε ὥρᾳ ὁ κλέπτης ἔρχεται. Καὶ τίς ὁ κλέπτης; Ὁ τῷ Ἰὼβ ἐπαγρυπνήσας καὶ μηδὲν εὑρών, ἀλλὰ κεναῖς χερσὶ τὸν κόλπον ῥιπίσας. Περὶ τοῦ ψυχικοῦ τοίνυν θησαυροῦ ὁ κύριος παραινῶν ἔλεγεν· Τί ὠφελήσει ἄνθρωπος ἐὰν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον κερδάνῃ, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ζημιωθῇ; Τοῦτο σαφῶς ἐπιστάμενος ὁ γενναιότατος Ἰὼβ πάσης τῆς ὑπάρξεως κατεφρόνησεν, ἵνα ψυχικὴν ζημίαν μὴ ὑπομείνῃ· βόας παρεῖδεν, ἀρετὰς οὐ παρεῖδεν· προβάτων κατεφρόνησεν, κατορθωμάτων οὐ κατέπτυσεν· τῶν τέκνων τὴν λύπην ἀπεδύσατο , τῶν ἁγίων τὸ κλέος ἐνεδύσατο. ∆ιὸ καὶ ὡς εἶδεν τὸν Ἰὼβ ὁ διάβολος πανταχόθεν ἠσφαλισμένον καὶ μᾶλλον ἔργοις θεοφιλέσι τετειχισμένον ἢ λίθοις λελαξευμένοις, ἀντέβαλλε πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ὁ διάβολος λέγων· Τί ποιήσω; Πῶς τοῦ Ἰὼβ τὸν πλοῦτον συλήσω; Πῶς αὐτὸν ἀποκοιμίσω, ἄνθρωπον ἐν βιωτικοῖς πράγμασιν ἐξεταζόμενον; Πλουτεῖ καὶ οὐ βλασφημεῖ· τοσαύτη δορυφορία καὶ οὐδαμοῦ ἁμαρτία· βασιλεύει καὶ οὐ πταίει, ἀλλ' ἐν πᾶσι βασιλεύει. Αὐτὸς ἐν βασιλείοις, κἀγὼ ἐν ἐρημίᾳ· αὐτὸς δίκαιος καὶ ἄμεμπτος καὶ ἀληθινὸς προσαγορεύεται, ἐγὼ δὲ "ὄφις" καὶ "σκορπίος" καὶ "διάβολος". Τί ποιήσω; Τὸν Ἀδὰμ ἐδελέασα, τὸν Ἄβελ ἐφόνευσα, τὸν Κάϊν ἐκέρδησα, τὸν Νῶε μέθῃ παρέπεμψα, τὸν Χὰμ δουλεύειν παρεσκεύασα, τὸν Ἰακὼβ ἐφυγάδευσα, τὸν Ἡσαῦ τῶν πρωτοτοκίων ἐστέρησα, τὸν Ἰὼβ οὐχ εὑρίσκω παρασαλεῦσαι; Ἔγνων τὸ πρᾶγμα, οἶδα τί πράξω· ἄνωθεν βοηθεῖται, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο εἰς βλάβην οὐ συνωθεῖται. Εἰ συνεχώρησέ μοι ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων θεὸς παραστῆναι μετὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἤμελλον λέγειν πρὸς αὐτόν· "Τί μάτην ὁ Ἰὼβ μακαρίζεται; Μισθῷ σε σέβεται· φυλάττεις αὐτόν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μικρὰν εὐχαριστίαν σοι προσφέρει." Ταῦτα πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ὁ διάβολος ἀντιβάλλων προσετίθει πάλιν λέγων ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Καὶ ταῦτά μου λέγοντος πρὸς τὸν κύριον ἀπεκρίνατο λέγων ὁ κύριος πρός με· "Εἰ διὰ τοῦτο μέγαν νομίζεις εἶναι τὸν Ἰώβ, διὰ τὴν τῶν χρημάτων περιουσίαν, δίδωμί σοι τὴν ἐξουσίαν· θέρισον αὐτοῦ τὰ χρήματα, ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι οὐ χρήμασιν ἀλλὰ κατορθώμασιν ἐπερείδεται." Εἰ ταύτην τὴν ἀπόκρισιν ἔλαβον παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου, καὶ ἔγνων ἀσφαλῶς ὅτι οὐκέτι ἀντέχεται τῷ Ἰώβ, ἐγνώριζον πᾶσι τοῖς παροῦσι καὶ τῷ ἐπάνω πάντων οἷος βλάσφημός ἐστιν ὁ Ἰώβ. Ἄκουε συνετῶς. Ταύτας τοῦ διαβόλου τὰς κατὰ διάνοιαν κατὰ τοῦ Ἰὼβ μηχανὰς ἡ θεία γραφὴ ἐπροσωποποίησε καὶ