Gregorius Moralia EN 117


XIV. Seven sons were born to him, and three daughters.


118
(
Jb 1,2)

What does the number seven stand for if not the whole of perfection? We should pass over the arguments of human reason for the perfection of this number (they say it is perfect because it is made up of the first even number [4] and the first uneven one [3], from the first which can be divided and the first which cannot be divided). We certainly know that holy scripture is in the habit of using the number seven as a symbol of perfection. Thus it asserts that the Lord rested from his labors on the seventh day; thus the seventh day is given to men for their rest, that is, for the sabbath. This is why the jubilee year, in which the fulness of repose is signified, is completed by seven sevens with the addition of the number one (sign of our unity).[98]



119
Seven sons were born to him. (
Jb 1,2)

These are the apostles going forth manfully to preach. When they accomplish the commands of perfection they symbolize the sturdy life of the higher sex. This is why there were twelve of them chosen to be filled with the seven-fold grace of the spirit, for the number seven is closely related to the number twelve. The parts of the number seven [4+3] multiplied together come to twelve. Whether you take four three times or three four times, seven turns into twelve. Thus the holy apostles, who were sent to preach the three persons of God to the four corners of the world, were chosen twelve in number, so that even by their number they should symbolize the perfection they preached by their words and deeds.



120 And three daughters were born to him. (Jb 1,2)

What shall we take the daughters for, if not the flock of less-gifted faithful? Even if they do not stay the course for the perfection of good works by strength and virtue, they cling tenaciously to the faith they know in the trinity. In the seven sons we see the rank of preachers, but in the three daughters the multitude of hearers.

The three daughters can also stand for the three classes of the faithful. After the sons the daughters are named because after the courage displayed by the apostles there came three classes of the faithful in the church's life: pastors, the continent,[99] and the married. This is why the prophet Ezechiel says that he heard three men were set free: Noe, Daniel, and Job.[100] Noe, who guided the ark through the waves, stands for the order of leaders who, while they preside over the people to set a pattern for living, govern the holy church in the midst of the breakers of temptation. Daniel, who is praised for his wonderful continence, represents the life of the ascetic who, abandoning all the things of this world, despises Babylon and lords over it in the citadel of his spirit. Job then stands for the life of the virtuous lay people in married life, who do good works with the things they possess of this world, following the path of this world to the heavenly fatherland. Since the three orders of the faithful come after the holy apostles, so it is appropriate that after the seven sons the three daughters should be mentioned.




XV. His wealth included seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels.


121
 (
Jb 1,3)

In mentioning the daughters, the text makes the general point that faithful hearers of the word are gathered from all walks of life, now the same point is made more clearly by the catalogue of animals that follows. The seven thousand sheep symbolize the perfect innocence of those who come to the fulness of grace from the pastures of the Law.[101] The three thousand camels stand for the twisted wickedness of the pagans coming to the abundance of faith.

For in sacred scripture the camel stands sometimes for the Lord, sometimes for the pagan peoples.[102] The camel stands for the Lord when it is said to the Jews opposing him by the Lord himself, "You strain at a gnat but swallow a camel."[103] The gnat buzzes and wounds, while the camel freely bows down to pick up its burdens. The Jews strained at a gnat because they asked for a seditious thief to be let go; but they swallowed a camel because they shouted out to try to destroy the one who had come down freely to bear the burdens of our mortality.[104]

Again, the camel stands for the pagans: So Rebecca is borne on a camel coming to Isaac,[105] for the church hurrying to Christ from among the pagans is found in all the twisted byways of the old sinful life. When she sees Isaac, she climbs down, for when the pagans recognized the Lord they abandoned their vices and sought the depths of humility from the heights of hauteur. Blushing, she was veiled by a cloak because in his presence she was embarrassed for her past life. So it was said to the same pagans through the apostle, "What profit do you have then in those things for which now you blush?"[106] Since therefore, we take the sheep to be the Hebrews coming from the pastures of the Law to the new faith, there is no reason why we should not take the camels to be the pagan peoples, perverse in their ways and bowed down under the cult of idols. Indeed it is because they had found within themselves the gods they would worship that they resemble the camel: they create from within the burden which they carry on their back.

122 The camels can also stand for the Samaritans,

because they are a mixed breed;[107] for camels chew their cud but their hoof is uncloven. Samaritans also "chew their cud" because they accept the words of the Law in part; and they have an uncloven hoof because in part they despise the Law. They bear a weighty burden on the back, in the spirit, because in everything they do, they labor without hope of eternity. They know nothing of faith in the resurrection. What can be weightier and more burdensome that to suffer the affliction of the pasing age and have no expectation of joyful reward to relieve the mind? Because the Lord appeared in the flesh and filled the Jewish nation with the grace of perfection and led some of the Samaritans to the knowledge of faith by showing his wondrous works, it is rightly hinted here, in the shadow that expresses Truth, that Job possessed seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels.




XVI. Five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred she-asses.


123 (Jb 1,3)

It has already been said above that the number fifty, which comes from seven sevens and a single added unit, stands for repose. The whole of perfection is expressed by the number ten. But since the perfection of repose is promised to the faithful, then fifty multiplied by ten leads us to five hundred.

Sometimes oxen in scripture stand for the obtuseness of the inane, sometimes for the life of those who do good. Because the ox stands for the vapidity of the foolish, it was rightly said through Solomon: "Immediately he follows her like an ox led to the sacrifice."[108] On the other hand the commandment of the Law given through Moses refers to the life of the worker of good through the ox this way: "You shall not bind the mouth of the ox treading out the corn on the threshing floor."[109] The same thing is also said openly: "The workman is worthy of his reward."[110]

The ass sometimes stands for the laziness of the foolish, sometimes for the unchecked self-indulgence of the wanton, sometimes for the simplicity of the pagans. Asses stand for the laziness of the foolish when it is said through Moses," You shall not plow with the ox and the ass at the same time,"[111] as if to say, 'You shall not lump together the wise and the foolish when you preach lest you make the one who cannot understand become an obstacle to the one who can.' The unchecked self-indulgence of the wanton is symbolized by asses when the prophet says, "In the flesh they resemble asses."[112] Finally, the ass stands for the simpicity of the pagan when the Lord is said to have ridden on the ass on his way into Jerusalem. To come to Jerusalem sitting on an ass is to possess the simple hearts of the pagans and by holding them and guiding them to lead them to the vision of peace.[113] A single, ready example suffices to show all this, for by the oxen the workers of Judea are meant and through the ass the pagan peoples: it is said through the prophet, "The ox knows his owner and the ass knows the corral of his master."[114] Who is the ox if not the Jewish people whose necks were bowed down by the yoke of the Law? And who is the ass if not the pagan, whom any rustler finds a brute animal without any sense and leads him astray where he will. The ox knows his owner and the ass recognizes the corral of his master, for the Hebrew people found the God whom they had worshipped but not known, while the pagans accepted the forage of the Law which they had not had. So what was said earlier when sheep and camels were mentioned is repeated here in the name of the ox and ass.



124 Judea possessed oxen before the coming of the Redeemer

because she sent out workers to preach, to whom the voice of Truth spoke: "Woe to you, hypocrites, who wander the seas and the deserts to make a single convert; and when you have made him one, you make him a son of the devil twice as much as yourself."[115] The yoke of the Law pressed down on them heavily, because they obeyed the outward commands of the literal text. To them the voice of Truth says: "Come to me all you who labor and are burdened and I shall refresh you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me that I am gentle and humble of heart."[116] The five hundred yoke of oxen mentioned here stand for the repose which is promised in the gospel to those who labor well, for those who bow their necks to the yoke of the Redeemer are going directly to their rest. The five hundred she-asses are mentioned, because the pagan peoples are brought together and, in their desire to come to a state of rest, willingly bear the burden of all the commandments. That the pagan nations want this repose is well indicated by Jacob's address to his sons in a spirit of prophecy: "Issachar lies secure within its own confines, like an ass of great strength; so pleasant he finds his resting-place, so fair his land, he is willing to bow his shoulder to the yoke."[117] To lie secure within one's own territory is to rest secure in the expectation of the end of the world, seeking nothing from the things we now busy ourselves with, yearning for the last things. The ass of great strength finds his resting-place pleasant and his land fair when pagan simplicity girds itself up in strength for good works to seek the homeland of eternal life. He puts his shoulder to the yoke because when he catches a glimpse of the heavenly repose he subjects himself to burdensome commands in his works. Whatever the faint-hearted find unbearable, the hope of reward shows to be light and easy. Since gentility is brought together with Judea for eternal rest in the number of the elect, it is right to have mention made of the five hundred yoke of oxen and the five hundred asses.




XVII. And a huge household.


125
 (
Jb 1,3)

Why does he mention all the flocks of animals first and the household last? To show us that first the foolish people of the world are brought to know the faith, and then only are the clever called. Paul bears witness to this: "Not many of you are wise according to the flesh, not many powerful, not many noble, but God has chosen the foolish of the world in order to confound the wise."[118] The very founders of the church are said to have been illiterate, so the Redeemer could show to all his preachers that it is not their words but the substance of their words that should persuade the believing peoples to follow the path of life.



XVIII. For he was a great man among all the peoples of the east.

126 (Jb 1,3)

The prophet attests that our redeemer is called 'The East': "And behold a man whose name is Oriens [The East]."[119] All those who gather in this 'East' are rightly called easterners. But because men are only men, it is rightly said of the East who was God and man: "He was a great man among all the peoples of the east." This is the same as saying openly, 'He excels all those who are born to God in faith; for it is not adoption (as it is for the others) but divine nature that exalts him.' Even if by his humanity he seemed to resemble the others, nevertheless in divinity he remained unique above all others.



XIX. And his sons went out and made feasting at their homes.


127
(
Jb 1,4)

The sons go forth to make feasting at their homes when the apostles go forth to preach in all the corners of the world, serving banquets of their virtues to their hearers as though to dinner-guests. To those same sons it was said of the hungry people: "Give them something to eat."[120] And again: "I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they pass out on the road."[121] This means, 'They are to receive the word of consolation in your preaching, lest they should succumb to the burdens of this life through fasting from the food of truth.' Again, Truth said to these same sons: "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for that which lasts for eternal life."[122]

How these banquets are given is shown when it is added:




XX. Taking turns each on his own day.


128  (Jb 1,4)

If the darkness of ignorance is without doubt the night of the heart, understanding is rightly called the day. So it is said through Paul: "One man makes a distinction between this day and that. Another regards all days alike."[123] This is the same as saying, 'One understands some things but misses others, but another understands all things possible just as they are to be seen.' Each son gives a banquet on his own day, because each holy preacher feeds the minds of his hearers with helpings of truth according to the measure of his own enlightenment and understanding. Paul was making a banquet on his own day when he said, "They will be more blessed if they abide as they are, in my judgment."[124] He admonished each one to think of his own day when he said, "Each one should rest fully content in his own opinion."[125]



XXI. And they sent to invite their three sisters to eat and drink along with them.


129
 (
Jb 1,4)

The sons call their sisters to the feasting because the holy apostles preach the joys of heavenly nourishment to weaker hearers and feed their minds with helpings of divine eloquence when they see them going without the fodder of Truth. It is well put: "to eat and drink along with them." Holy scripture is sometimes food for us, sometimes drink. It is food in its darker passages, where it is broken by our exposition and swallowed down when we chew it over. But it is drink in the clearer passages which are taken in just as they are found. The prophet saw scripture to be a kind of food which is broken in commentary, when he said: "Children have sought bread and there was no one to break it for them,"[126] i.e., some weaker brethren wanted the sturdier sayings of scripture to be broken up for them by a commentator but could not find someone to do so. The prophet considered scripture to be like drink when he said, "All ye who thirst, come to the waters."[127] If the obvious commands were not drink, the Truth would not have said himself, "If anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink."[128] The prophet saw that food and drink were lacking to Judea when he said, "Her nobles have perished with hunger and the masses are dried up with thirst."[129] It is a matter for the few, to understand the harder and more obscure passages; but the many can understand the simple stories. And so the nobles of Judea perished not out of thirst but hunger, because those who were seen to be in charge, while they had given themselves over entirely to understanding the outer surface of the Law, did not take anything to eat from the inmost mysteries. With the great ones falling away from understanding the inner mysteries, the understanding of the little ones even for the surface meanings dried up, and so it is rightly added, "The masses are dried up with thirst." This is as if to say, 'The mob ceased to care about their behavior, they sought not even the ready waters of history.'

The ones who complained to an accusing judge and said, "We have eaten and drunk in your presence,"[130] were claiming to have understood both the hidden and the open commands of sacred scripture. This is added openly just afterwards: "And you have taught in our courtyards."[131] Because therefore the holy words are broken up by the commentator in their darker places, and because in their clearer places they are drunk down as they are found, it was right to say, "And they sent to invite their sisters to eat and drink along with them." This is as if to say, 'They brought the weaker brethren to themselves by gentle persuasion, so that they might feed the stronger with contemplation and nourish the weaker with history.'



XXII. And when their days of feasting had gone full circle, Job sent to them and blessed them;


130
rising up at first light he made burnt offerings for each of them. (
Jb 1,5)

The days of feasting go full circle when the ministry of preaching is accomplished. When the banquets were over, Job made burnt offerings for his sons just as the Redeemer prayed to the father for the apostles when they came back from preaching.[132] It is apt to say that he sent to them and blessed them because when Christ infused the holy spirit, which came forth from him,[133] into the hearts of his disciples, he cleansed whatever faults might have lain within. Dawn is the suitable time for rising to make burnt offerings, for our Redeemer, by offering the prayer of his intervention for us, banished the night of error and threw light into the shadowy places of the human spirit. Thus the mind might avoid even a secret taint from any contagion of sin, even from the gift of preaching, as might arise if the apostles had claimed for themselves the credit for their deeds and in so doing lost the fruit of their labors.




XXIII. For he said, 'Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.'


131 (Jb 1,5)

To curse God is to attribute the glory of his gifts to yourself. This is why the Lord washed the feet of his holy apostles after he had taught them, to show openly that the dust of sin attaches itself often even to one who does good works, and the preaching that purifies the hearts of the listeners winds up soiling the feet of the preachers. Very often some of those who exhort the faithful by their words find themselves puffed up within, even if only slightly, at the thought that it is through them that the purifying grace comes. When they purify the deeds of others by their words, they pick up the dust of an evil thought while on a journey that is altogether good. Washing the feet of the disciples after teaching them, the Lord washed away the dust from their thoughts and purified their hearts from secret pride. This interpretation is not weakened by the fact that it is said, with the omniscience of the Mediator, "perhaps." The Lord knows all things, but in his speech he takes on human ignorance and teaches in this way, speaking sometimes as though he shared our doubts, as when he says, "Do you think that the son of man, when he comes, will find faith on the earth?"[134] After the feasting, therefore, Job offers sacrifice for his sons and says, "Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts;" that is, our Redeemer, after he had protected his preachers from the evils that threatened them, sheltered them even from temptation that might come from the good things they had done.



XXIV. So Job acted all the days of his life.

132

(
Jb 1,5)

Job did not stint his sacrificing all the days of his life, just as the Redeemer offers constant sacrifice on our behalf, the Redeemer who displays to the Father unceasingly that he has taken flesh for our benefit. That very incarnation is the sacrifice of our purification; when our Lord shows himself to be a man, he intervenes and cleanses us of our sins. And by the mystery of his humanity he makes perpetual sacrifice, for the things which he purifies are eternal.

----------



133 In the preface to our commentary, we said that Job could be taken as a figure for the Lord's head and for his body, that is, for both Christ and the church. After considering how he stands for the head [Christ], now we shall consider how he stands for the body [the church], that is, for ourselves. From the story of the text we learn wondrous things; from the head we learn what to believe; so now let us take from the body an understanding of how we should live. For we must take what we read and assimilate it within, so that when the spirit is excited by what it hears, we may hasten to accomplish in our lives what we have heard.




XXV. There was a man in the land of Hus, whose name was Job.


134 (Jb 1,1)

If Job means 'sufferer' and Hus 'counsellor', then the two names together can stand for any one of the elect; for the person who hastens towards eternity while suffering the sorrows of the passing world clearly has a soul filled with of counsel. There are those who are heedless of their behavior and chase after things that fade while either ignoring or despising eternal things: they feel no compunction and they have no good counsel. While they ignore the heavenly things they have lost, they think themselves (poor wretches!) to be in the midst of goodness. They never turn the eyes of the mind towards the light of truth for which they were created. They never turn the gaze of their longing to contemplate the eternal homeland, but abandon themselves to the things they find around them. They begin to love their place of exile instead of their homeland, and so they boast of the blindness they endure as if it were the clearest vision.

On the other hand, the elect see that things that fade are as nothing and so they struggle towards the goal for which they were created. Nothing but God will satisfy them. When their thoughts are wearied by the struggle to understand they find repose in their hope and contemplation as they seek to be received among the citizens of the heavenly city. Still attached to the world in the body, they climb in their hearts beyond this world, lament the tribulations of the exile they suffer, and impel themselves upwards towards the lofty homeland by the constant prodding of love. When the sufferer sees that the thing he has lost is eternal, he discovers the counsel that saves him, to despise this temporal world that flashes past. The more the knowledge of good counsel grows and he flees the perishing world, the more he suffers because he has not yet reached the things that abide. So it is well put through Solomon: "Who adds to learning, adds to suffering."[135] The one who knows the highest things, which he does not yet have, grieves the more at the lowest things, to which he is yet bound.

135 So it is fitting to say that Job lived in the land of Hus,

for the heart of the elect is kept suffering by the counsel of knowledge. Notice of course that there is no suffering for the mind in headlong action. The people who live free of all counsel, who abandon themselves headlong to the vagaries of this world, are burdened for the moment by no painful thoughts. It is the one who cautiously looks to the best counsel who watches himself most carefully in every thing he does. Lest some sudden and unpleasant result should come of what he does, he feels his way ahead gently in his thoughts, concerned that fear not keep him from doing what must be done, that haste not drive him to do what should be put off, that wicked desires not prevail in open combat: lest good deeds lead him into the ambush laid to trip him by empty pride. Job lives in the land of Hus when the mind of the elect is burdened with suffering as it struggles down the path of good counsel.




XXVI. He was a man simple and upright, who feared God and drew back from all evil-doing.


136  (Jb 1,1)

Whoever seeks the eternal home lives in simplicity and rectitude: simple in deeds, upright in faith, sincere in good works accomplished here below, righteous in lofty things thought and felt within. There are those who are devious in their good deeds, when they seek from them not inner satisfaction but public approval. Of them it was well said through a certain wise man: "Woe to the sinner walking the earth by a double path." (Si 2,14) The sinner walks the earth by a double path when his deeds are God's but his thoughts are the world's. So it is well said:



137 Who feared God and drew back from all evil-doing.

(
Jb 1,1)

The holy church of the elect enters on the path of innocence and righteousness in fear, but comes to its end with charity.[137] For the church to draw back from evil-doing entirely is to begin, in the love of God, to want not to sin. But when the church does good deeds out of fear, it has not drawn back from evil entirely, for it sins to the extent that it would sin if it could do so with impunity. Job is rightly said to fear God, but then is said to have drawn back from all evil-doing, for charity follows fear and the fault which had lingered in the mind is banished by the firm purpose of right-thinking. And because every vice is crushed by fear, but the virtues spring from charity, it is fittingly added:



XXVII. Seven sons were born to him and three daughters.


138
 (
Jb 1,2)

Seven sons are born for us[138] when the seven virtues of the Holy Spirit quicken to life in us through the conception of right thinking. The prophet counts up this inner progeny that comes from the fertility of the Spirit, saying: "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and devotion; and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him."[139] When wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, devotion and fear of the Lord spring to life for us through the coming of the Spirit, it is like the generation of a long-lived progeny in the mind, which keeps alive our noble lineage from heaven by giving us to share the love of eternity. These seven sons have three sisters in our hearts, because whatever these virtues generate is joined to the three theological virtues of hope, faith and charity. The seven sons cannot achieve the perfection of the number ten unless everything they do is done in hope, faith and charity. Because the thought of good works soon accompanies this abundance of virtues that go on before, it is rightly added:




XXVIII. His wealth included seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels.


139 (Jb 1,3)

We can recognize here the accuracy of the historical narrative, while still imitating in the spirit what comes to our hearing through ears of the flesh. We possess seven thousand sheep when in perfect purity of heart we feed our innocent thoughts within on the long-sought food of Truth.



140 We will possess three thousand camels,

if we can subdue everything lofty and twisted that is within us to the authority of faith and bow down willingly in humble longing that comes from knowledge of the trinity. We possess camels if we humbly lay down all our lofty thoughts. We surely possess camels when we turn our thoughts to compassion for our brother's weakness so that, bearing one another's burdens, we might know how to come to the aid of another's troubles.[140] The camel has uncloven hoof but chews his cud: he can stand for the just arrangement of earthly affairs, which have something in them of what is worldly and something of what is Godly, and thus can best be symbolized by a common beast. Earthly affairs cannot be conducted, even in the service of eternity, without some distress and confusion. The mind is confused for the moment but an eternal reward awaits; so also a common beast is subject to the Law in some ways, but is beyond its reach in others. The hoof is uncloven, because the mind does not entirely separate itself from earthly affairs, but it still chews its cud, because by managing temporal affairs well it hopes for heaven with certainty and confidence. So earthly affairs, like the camel, are in accord with the Law at the top, but out of step at the bottom. What the just seek in this life belongs to heaven, but their search is carried on in the midst of things of this world. When we subordinate our earthly affairs to our knowledge of the trinity, we are "owning camels" with our faith.




XXIX. Five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred she-asses.


141
 (
Jb 1,3)

Yoke of oxen we own and use when the virtues work in harmony to plow up the hard soil of the mind. We possess five hundred she-asses when we restrain our wanton appetites and hold every stirring of the flesh immediately in check by the spiritual power of the heart. Put another way, to own she-asses is to keep our simple thoughts in check, which walk along sluggishly, innocent of loftier understanding, but for that very reason reach out to bear our brother's burdens all the more kindly. There are many who do not understand lofty things but submit themselves all the more humbly to the outer works of charity. It is good therefore to take the she-asses, slow-moving animals given to bearing burdens, as simple thoughts, for it is often by recognizing our own ignorance that we learn to put up with others' burdens the more readily. When the heights of wisdom do not draw us up and away, our mind cheerfully bends itself to tolerate the sluggishness of another's heart. So the yoke of oxen and the she-asses amount to five-hundred in number, showing how the number of the jubilee applies itself both to the things we understand prudently and the things we humbly fail to grasp, as we seek the peace of eternal rest.



XXX. And a huge household.


142
 (
Jb 1,3)

We possess a great household when we keep our countless imaginings under rational control and keep from letting the sheer number of them get the better of us, lest they upset the natural order and take over all our thoughts. A great household is a good symbol for abundance of such notions. We know that when the mistress is away, the tongues of the maids rattle on, silence is unheard of, the assigned tasks are neglected, and the whole routine of the household is thrown into confusion. If the mistress comes home suddenly, soon the babbling tongues fall silent and all return to their tasks. They go back to their jobs as if they had never left them. So if reason abandons the mind for a moment as the mistress leaves a house, the racket of fantasies grows like the chattering crowd of maids. But when reason returns to the mind, soon the riotous confusion is kept in check. Just as the maids slink back to their assigned tasks in silence, so also fancies of the mind are once again subordinated to their own appropriate uses. We possess a great household when we subject our boundless ideas rightly to the arbitration of reason. When we do this conscientiously, we struggle to become like the angels in our discernment. Thus it follows naturally:



XXXI. For he was a great man among all the peoples of the east.


143 (Jb 1,3)

We become great men among all the peoples of the east when we pierce the cloud of fleshly corruption with the eye of discernment and join ourselves to those spirits who cling to the light of The East insofar as we can. Thus it was said through Paul, "Our true life is in heaven."[141] Whoever runs after earthly things that fade, chases the setting sun; but whoever longs for things above shows that he lives in the east. The one who seeks to advance among the citizens of heaven, and does not look to advance in the midst of those who seek base and fading things, is the one who becomes a great man, not among the peoples of the west but among the peoples of the east.




Gregorius Moralia EN 117