Job's Magnanimity and the Nature of His Suffering

He cleanses his threshing floor and gathers the grain into a granary, and burns the chaff with a lime-fire. It is clear that these things are not spoken concerning sensible things; for chaff is not burned with a lime-fire, nor does he seem to take up threshing concerning a sensible woman—for man is not a threshing-woman—but rather the perfection and fullness, as we have said.

We have, most wisely, in the Song of Songs, something said concerning the bride, who is the church or the perfected soul: 'Your navel is like a rounded vessel; the swelling of your womb is like a fenced threshing-floor of lilies' (Song of Songs 4:2). And that the soul does not have this commonly called 'belly,' concerning which it is said: 'food for the belly and the belly for food' (1 Corinthians 6:13), but rather that one concerning which it is written: 'your law in the midst of my belly' (Psalm 119:11), and: 'from the fear of you in the belly we have endured pain and have given birth' (Isaiah 42:14).

And this same soul also has a 'navel' which is the middle of the intellect, which has become, according to the 'wine having been strained by wisdom,' the divine thoughts and having ascended super-eminently. And since these things were not able to be thought by men, they were strained with human words, so that in this way they might reach the 'swelling,' to receive the hearing of the naked, those unable to hear the things of wisdom.

And it is possible to show the non-human through the vessel, but also to say to the human: that you have an old and new scripture, which is the vessel, in the middle of your ruling principle. And you also have a 'belly' resembling a threshing-floor, 'fenced in lilies.' For since the lily has white on the outside, but a dark color inside, it would perhaps show that the perfected soul becomes white according to the word, concerning which it was said: 'my sister is white' (Song of Songs 6:4), being killed from the deathfulness of asceticism.

'Behold, these things we have searched out, these are the things we have heard. But you, know yourself if you have done anything' (Job 28:24). The aforementioned is confirmed, that being wise and perhaps having heard from old saints who taught divinely without writing, he was led to say someone having a reason, of which we also find similar things in the divine letters and set them aside. For through 'we have searched out' his wisdom is demonstrated, and through 'we have heard'...

Unless someone says that he speaks of instruction as if it were experience and knowledge of things, he follows the same beginning and remains with the idea that he has suffered through sin, and he brought forward: 'But know yourself if you have done anything,' so that he might also through this be making it manifest that: gap what I said concerning those committing sin; for I do not think it just to be punished. But I do not know the details of each of the sins.

'But know yourself,' which is to say: having known, repent, which is again remaining as if he were concerning a sin. For he thought one cause for the inductions. 'And having understood, Job says: If indeed anyone were to set my anger in a yoke, and to lift my pains in a yoke together, and indeed it would be heavier than a sandbank.' Just as from all the other things, so also from the things set forth, the magnanimity of Job is shown, bearing the circumstances bravely and very manfully. For many, when they come into circumstantial and distressing situations, they consider those who exhort and gap blame them as superfluous. But this one has prepared himself even for an answer gap of the circumstances gap.

Therefore, he would say the things set forth against the things spoken by Eliphaz: 'But now toil has come upon you and has touched you, and you have hurried' (Job 2:10), to demonstrate at the same time that these things are not happening because of sins, and to show moderation, supposing himself to be wavering even though the inspired spirit of the writer testifies to him that he might be 'blameless.' Therefore he says: if anyone would desire to set our trespasses and the provoked anger in a yoke, he would find it heavier than our trespasses. For the saint knew that these things were not happening because of sins but because of a struggle, where in the following he declared: 'I know that I shall appear righteous' (Job 27:6). Therefore he strove to lead his friends into such knowledge.

And if even the 'setting' signifies the cessation, he perceived it. And let it be understood thus: a yoke is said to be lying upon the neck of suffering animals. He might be saying: if anyone would be willing to pull with me the yoke of sufferings, so as to silence me from them through fellowship. But look, lest this be unworthy of the saint to lead us up to the first response. And he took sandbank aside because of the...