Lecture 1 — The response of Baldath

^18:1^ Then Baldath of Shuah answered and said:

^18:2^ To what end will you just toss out words? Reflect first, and then we will speak.

^18:3^ Why do you take us to be asses and deprecate us in your presence?

^18:4^ Will you lose your soul in your anger? Because of you, should the land disappear and should the rocks be displaced?

^18:5^ Will not the light of evil men go out, and will his fire sparkle?

^18:6^ The light has darkened in the tent of that man and the lamp above him has gone out.

^18:7^ His strong efforts will lose their vigor and all his places will fall short.

^18:8^ For he has put his feet in the snare and he walked forward into the mesh.

^18:9^ The sole of the foot of that man will be bound in a snare, and his thirst burns against him.

^18:10^ A snare is hidden for him on the earth, and a trap is set for him on the path.

^18:11^ From all sides dread terrifies him, and he does not know where to put his feet.

276. Then Baldath of Shuah answered. Since Baldath of Shuah could not understand what blessed Job meant with his intellect, he thought that what he himself could not understand was spoken without basis by Job, and so in the beginning of his answer he says, to what end will you just toss out words?

Here he blames Job for three things:

first, the ineffectual character of his speech, as though the words of Job had no efficacious proof, which is shown in the fact that he says, to what end.

Second, he blames him for the vain multiplication of words, as though these words of Job lacked serious consideration, which is shown in the fact that he says, words.

Third, he criticizes him for the disordered connection of his words, which is shown when he says, will you just toss out words? For one is said to toss out words who scatters them inordinately, although one can also interpret this third thing as bragging. These three things occur in the speech of someone who has a weak mind, and so it is useless to speak with him, and so he continues, reflect first, and then we will speak. In this he seems to mean, “From the fact that you speak inefficaciously, lightly, and inordinately, it is clear that you have weak intelligence, and so I insist first that you think hard, and afterwards, we can converse with each other.”

Then he blames him for presumption, since he had not held them to be wise when he had said, I will find no wise man among you (Job 17:10). So to answer this he then says, why do you take us to be asses and deprecate us in your presence? For the man who lacks wisdom seems poor and like a beast, because the honor and crown of man consists in wisdom. Consequently, he finds fault in him about anger, because he had said: anger darkened my vision (Job 17:7). He had taken this in the wrong way, believing that it was the sort of anger that takes away the light of wisdom, not listening to what he had said after this, the just will preserve his course (Job 17:9). So he then says, will you lose your soul in your anger? For one loses his soul in anger who, because of anger, exceeds wisdom and justice, which are the principle goods of the soul.

277. With these promises, in which he had noted weakness of intellect, presumption and unjust anger in the person of Job, he arrives as the consequence at his principal proposition towards which the controversy was directed, which is that the adversities of this present life are punishments of sin. Job had said against this, I have not sinned, and my eye lingers on bitter things (Job 17:2). Since Baldath could not use arguments for the assertion of his opinion, he wanted to establish his opinion as most firm from common opinion, and so he compared it to the things which are firmly established, like the earth and rock. So he says, because of you, should the land disappear and should the rocks be displaced? implying that the opinion that adversities happen because of sins is firm as earth and rocks. Would you be able to move them because of your arguments to prove your innocence?

278. He then expands his idea more fully, relating in detail the evils which happen to sinners. Among these he places first the end of their success, which he compares to the light, because those who walk in the light do not stumble (John 11:9). Thus, those seem to walk in the light for whom everything prospers as they would like. He speaks about the loss of this light, of prosperity, saying, will not the light of evil men go out, will not their prosperity cease? Just as material comes from the flame of fire, so also the luster of his prosperity comes from human desire when one attains what he desires, and so he then says, nor will his fire sparkle? For fire is commonly used to symbolize the fervor of love, as we read in the Song of Songs, his lamps are fire and torches (Song 8:6). We should note that man’s success in prosperity comes from two causes. Sometimes it comes from human providence; for example, when a man prudently and carefully orders each and every individual thing. As to the end of this prosperity he says, the light has darkened in the tent of that man? because both he and his household will lack prudence in their decisions. Sometimes, however, a man’s success in prosperity comes from a higher cause, from divine providence. He describes the end of this prosperity, saying, the lamp from above him has gone out, not that God does not shine in himself, but he does not show this to the evil man. He fittingly describes the providence of man as light, for it is borrowed from another, and the providence of God as lamp because he gives light in himself. He speaks of the light of divine providence from the fact that, because a man loses the light of reason, he seems not to merit to be protected by the light of divine providence.

279. After he has treated of lost prosperity, he then speaks about adversity, concerning which he first places the impediments to action and effort. Man struggles to attain the effect of his action in two ways: in one way by his own personal courage, and thus he says, his strong efforts will lose their vigor, because his courageous assertion cannot advance further. In another way man tries to attain something by wisdom, and regarding this he says, all his plans will fall short, when what he thought was useful becomes harmful to him. He says that the cause of these impediments comes from his sin, for he put his feet in the snare. For just as one who spontaneously puts his foot in a snare wants to be captured, so one who spontaneously occupies himself with sin disposes himself to have his desires impeded; as Scripture says, the iniquity of the evil man has ensnared him (Prov 5:22). As there are a variety of stains in the mesh in the net, so also in sin there are many different sins which entangle a man. So he then says, and he walked forward into the mesh, when he goes from one kind of sin to another, or from one mode of sinning to another. Since he spontaneously put himself in danger and does not stop advancing, but always proceeds further on, as a result, he sometimes feels himself impeded and so he then says, the sole of the foot of that man will be bound in a snare; that is, the forward motion of his will and his act will be blocked by some obstacle.

280. These sorts of evil things arise from three causes for those progressing more deeply in sin.

First, on the part of the sinner, in whom the desire for sins increase in direct proportion the more he sins. Regarding this he continues, and his thirst burns against him, because sometimes man the sinner considers something to be harmful to him from reason, but the strength of his desire for sin compels him to act against his thinking.

Second, the cause of the harm is sometimes from the things themselves in which he sins, as Scripture says, riches are amassed to the evil of the one possessing them (Eccl 5:12). Harmful things of this sort come sometimes from things already obtained, and regarding this he says, a snare is hidden for him on the earth, because in fact there is some danger hidden in earthly things themselves, and so the feet of the sinner are caught. But sometimes harmful things of this sort arise when a man is en route to acquiring things, and expressing this he says, and a trap is set for him on the path, because before the sinner obtains what he seeks, the dangers are already hidden on the way itself.

Third, harmful things like this are caused on the part of some men whose plots and attacks the sinner fears, and so he then says, from all sides dread terrifies him, since, as Scripture says, when the evil man is timid, he is given to the condemnation of everyone (Wis 17:10). When, however, man is wary about everyone and everything, it is necessary that his acts should be impeded in many things, and so he then says, he does not know where to put his feet, so he cannot go forward freely in any direction.