The Superiority of Reality over Discourse

Did the devil not take an opportunity rather? Instead, he hides the crowns so that he may strip the athletes; he hides the prize so that he may show the athlete. For what reason, he asks, did he not also hide it from the apostles? For if it were for this reason he did not speak to Job, why did he not remain silent about the contest also regarding the apostles in the same manner? Job struggled alone; he suffered for himself, and he struggled for himself. But the apostles were preachers of the earth and teachers of the inhabited world. For them, indeed, it was not possible to hide it, but for the world the matter became a loss.

Paul was able to struggle without the promise of crowns; Peter was able to show manliness without the promise; the apostles were able to struggle for the sake of virtue without receiving the promise of good things. But Paul is not everywhere, nor is Peter everywhere; for many souls are weak, and many minds are faltering. For if today, while the kingdom is being preached, the coming enjoyment of good things, the angelic fellowship, and the luxury that is in paradise, are being proclaimed, many despise the promised things because they have been attached to present things; if it were indeed silenced, who would run to piety?

It is fitting, then, brothers, that for Job he does not show the things to come, so that he may show the intention to be more stable; but to the apostles the things to come are promised, so that he may rouse the souls of the hearers and strengthen the mind of the inhabited world. Many now hear about the kingdom and despise it; many receive Christ and put on wickedness; many do not withdraw from evil. Many honor fasts today and say: Today I say nothing to my adversary; let the day of the passion of Christ pass by, and I will exercise the judgment, I will avenge the insult, and I will do many things.

Are you not a brother of Esau, remembering these things? You say the same things that Esau said. For Esau also desired to kill his brother, but he loved his father. And what did he say? Let the days of my father's mourning draw near, and then I will kill...

Save my brother; let the death of my father pass, and then I will lift myself up. And what do you say? Let the passion of Christ pass, and then I will fight against my enemy. See lest you be a brother of Esau. Listen to what Paul says: let no one be a fornicator or profane like Esau, so that many are not defiled through him. These things are said to me, not for provocation, but for the understanding of the brothers and for salvation. And may it happen to us, being instructed by the word and being led by histories, standing firm in the contests of the holy Fathers and prophets, to always send back glory to God, now and forever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Concerning the righteous and blessed Job, the Word. 4. Everywhere and upon all things, so to speak, the words of the divine narratives are inferior to the realities, and the expressions of the hypotheses are weaker; but this is absolutely true regarding those things established in the blessed Job. No one is ever able to present the word of the hypothesis alongside the word of its own excellence. For even if ten thousand things are said about it, the word of the power according to its worth is left behind. Since therefore the things according to power have been said to us in moderation, nothing prevents even today from grasping the same narratives. And let no one suppose that the hypothesis is insulted if we truncate the narrative. For Job does not ache when being cut; for if being cut in the body he did not ache, will he ache being cut in the narrative?

We knew from the previously spoken narratives how he lost all things, but rather he found all things. For having lost all beautiful things, he did not lose the root of beauty. He lost the lyre, but the musician remained; he lost the fruits of prosperity, but the farmer of well-being remained; he was stripped of all possessions, and was not stripped of virtue. He pre-emptively gave the possessions to the devil, casting off life, just as Joseph cast off the garment to the dishonorable one. In suffering, he did not suffer. For it is necessary even for nature to confess the passion, and of the soul...