Lecture 4 — Job’s submission

^1:20^ Then Job arose and rent his robe; he shaved his head and he fell on the ground and worshipped.

^1:21^ He said: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave; the Lord has taken away. As God pleased, so it has been done. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

^1:22^ In all these things, Job did not sin with his lips, nor did he say anything foolish against God.

31. Then Job arose. After the adversity of blessed Job has been narrated, the text treats the patience Job showed in adversity. As evidence of what is said here, know that there was a difference of opinion among the ancient philosophers as to corporeal goods and the passions of the soul. For the Stoics said that exterior goods were not goods of man, and that there could be no sorrow for their loss in the soul of the wise man. But the opinion of the Peripatetics was that some of the goods of man are truly exterior goods, though these are certainly not the principal ones. Nevertheless, they are like instruments ordered to the principal good of man, which is the good of the mind. Because of this, they conceded that the wise man is moderately sad in the losses of exterior goods; namely, his reason is not so absorbed by sadness that he leaves righteousness. This opinion is the more true of the two, and is in accord with the teaching of the Church, as is clear from St. Augustine in his book, The City of God.

32. So Job followed this opinion and truly showed sorrow in adversity; yet this sadness was so moderated that it was subject to reason. The text therefore continues, then Job arose, and rent his robe, which is usually an indication of sadness among men. Note, however, that the text says, then; namely, after he heard about the death of his children, so that he might seem more sad over their loss than the loss of his possessions. For it is characteristic of a hard and insensible heart to not grieve over dead friends, but it is characteristic of virtuous men to not have this grief in an immoderate way; as St. Paul says, but we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope (2 Thess 4:13).

This was true in the case of blessed Job, and so the state of his mind appears in his exterior act. Since his reason stood upright, the text fittingly says that **Job arose, **although men in grief usually prostrate themselves. For though he suffered grief, but not a grief which penetrated as far as disturbing his interior reason, he showed a sign of his sadness in exterior actions in two ways: namely, as to what is outside the nature of the body, and so the text says, he rent his robe; and as to those things which proceed from the nature of the body, he shaved his head, which among those who care for their hair usually indicates grief. These two signs, then, fittingly correspond to the adversities mentioned, for the tearing of the robe corresponds to the loss of his possessions, and the cutting of the hair corresponds to the loss of his sons. Then the mind stands upright when it humbly is submitted to God. For each thing exists in a higher and more noble state to the extent that it stands firm in what perfects it more, like air when it is subject to light, and matter when it is subject to form. Therefore the fact that the mind of blessed Job was not dejected by sadness, but persisted in its righteousness, clearly shows that he humbly subjected himself to God. So the text continues, and he fell on the ground, and worshipped, to show evidence for his devotion and humility.

33. Job revealed the state of his mind not only by deeds, but also by words. For he rationally demonstrated that although he suffered sadness, he did not have to yield to sadness.

First, he demonstrated from the condition of nature. So the text said, he said: naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, namely, from the earth, which is the common mother of everything, and naked shall I return there, that is, to the earth. Sirach speaks in the same vein, saying that great hardship has been created for man, and a heavy yoke lies on the sons of Adam from the day they come forth from their mother’s womb until the day they return to their burial in the mother of them all (Sir 40:1). This can also be interpreted in another way. The expression, from my mother’s womb can be literally taken as the womb of the mother who bore him. When he says next naked I shall return there, the term there establishes a simple relation. For a man cannot return a second time to the womb of his own mother, but he can return to the state which he had in the womb of his mother in a certain respect, namely in that he is removed from the company of men. In saying this, he reasonably shows that a man should not be absorbed with sadness because of the loss of exterior goods, since exterior goods are not connatural to him, but come to him accidentally. This is evident since a man comes into this world without them, and leaves this world without them. So, when these accidental goods are taken away, if the substantial ones remain, man ought not to be overcome by sadness, although sadness may touch him.

34. Second, he shows the same thing from divine action, saying, the Lord gave; the Lord has taken away. Here, his true opinion about divine providence in relation to human affairs must first be considered. When he says, the Lord gave, he confessed that earthly prosperity does not come to men accidentally, either according to fate or the stars, or as a result of human exertion alone, but by divine direction. When he says, however, the Lord has taken away, he confesses also that earthly adversities also arise among men by the judgment of divine providence. This leads to the conclusion that man does not have a just complaint with God if he should be despoiled of his temporal goods, because he who gave freely could bestow them either until the end of his life, or temporarily. So when he takes temporal goods away from man before the end of life, man cannot complain.

35. Third, he shows the same thing from the good pleasure of the divine will, saying, as God pleased, so it has been done. For friends will, and do not will, the same thing. Thus if it is the good pleasure of God that someone should be despoiled of temporal goods, if he loves God, he ought to conform his will to the divine will, so that he is not absorbed by sadness in this consideration.

36. These three arguments are put in the proper order.

For in the first argument it is posited that temporal goods are exterior to man.

In the second, it is posited that they are a gift given to a man and taken away by God.

In the third, that this happens according to the good pleasure of the divine will.

So one can conclude from the first argument that man should not be absorbed by sorrow because of the loss of temporal goods;

from the second, that he cannot even complain;

and from the third, that he ought even to rejoice.

For it would not please God that someone should suffer from adversity unless he wished some good to come to him from it. So though adversity is bitter in itself and generates sadness, nevertheless it should be the cause of rejoicing when one considers the use because of which it pleases God, as is said about the apostles, the apostles went rejoicing because they had suffered contempt for Christ (Acts 5:41). For when taking a bitter medicine, one can rejoice with reason because of the hope for health, although he suffers sensibly. So since joy is the matter of the action of thanksgiving, therefore Job concludes this third argument with an act of thanksgiving, saying, Blessed be the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord is truly blessed by men inasmuch as they have knowledge of his goodness; namely, that he distributes all things well and does nothing unjustly.

37. Then the text therefore concludes to the innocence of Job when it says, in all these things, Job did not sin with his lips; namely, he did not express a movement of impatience in word, nor did he say anything foolish against God, that is, blasphemy, so that he did not blaspheme concerning divine providence. For foolishness is opposed to wisdom, which properly is knowledge of divine things.