Книга 4 [глава 3, стихи 1–19]

In which Gregory, having briefly stated in the Preface that the letter of Scripture sometimes contradicts itself, and that the curses of Job, like those of Jeremiah and David, cannot be understood without absurdity according to the sound they convey, explains the words of Job in a historical, mystical and moral sense, from the third chapter to the twentieth verse of the same chapter. He who turns to the text and does not become acquainted with the meaning of the holy Word does not really learn, but becomes entangled in obscurity, since the literal words sometimes contradict themselves; but, despite their opposition, they point the reader to a truth that should be understood. Thus, how does Solomon say: “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink”; [Eccl. 2:24 ] and adds soon after, “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to a house of feasting”? [Eccl. 7:2 ] Why did he prefer weeping to feasting, he who formerly praised food and drink? If by preference it is better to "eat and drink," then surely it must be much better to hasten to the house of gladness than to the house of mourning. Thus he says again: “Rejoice, young man, in your youth”; [Eccl. 11:9] although he soon adds: “for youth and joy are vanity.” [Art. 10. Vulg.] What does this mean: that he first prescribes practices that are condemned, or then condemns practices that he himself has prescribed? But through the literal words he implies that he who finds difficulties in external form must reflect on the truth which is to be understood, and that this same truth, when sought with humility of heart, is imbued with perseverance in reading. For just as we see the faces of strangers and know nothing about their hearts, but if we communicate with them in a friendly conversation, then by the frequency of conversations we can trace even their very thoughts; so when in Holy Scripture only the historical narrative is considered, nothing more is seen than a face. But if we unite with it with frequent mindfulness, then we actually penetrate into its meaning, as if through the effect of habitual communication. When we gather different truths from different parts, it is easy for us to see in his words that what they contain is one thing, and how they sound is another. But everyone turns out to be a stranger in the knowledge of it, to the extent that he is attached only to its external side. For example, in the blessed Job it is described how he cursed his day and said: “Let the day on which I was born disappear and the night on which it was said: “Man will repent”; [Job 3, 3] if we do not look beyond the surface, what can we find more condemnable than these words? But who does not know that the day he was born could not exist at that time, since time cannot stop flowing. Since from the point of view of the future it always strives to be, so in the passing past it always rushes not to be. Why then should such a great man curse that which he does not ignore, that has no existence? But perhaps it can be said that the greatness of his virtue is evident from here, that he, being shocked by sorrows, curses what obviously does not exist at all. But this thought is abandoned the moment the rationality of the thing is considered, because if there were an object which he cursed, it would be a harmful curse; but if he were not, it would be an empty one: but he who is filled with His Spirit, who says that for every empty word that men utter, they will give an account on the Day of Judgment; [Matt. 12, 36] is afraid of being guilty of what is empty, as well as of what is harmful. To this sentence is added: Let that day become darkness; Let not God look upon him from above, let not the light shine on him. Let darkness and the shadow of death darken him; let the cloud dwell over him; let it be shrouded in bitterness. As for that night, let the darkness take over. Now, let this night be lonely, let not a single joyful voice sound in it: let it seek light and not find it; let him not see the dawn of the day. How is it that that day, which he knows has passed with the passage of time, is called “wrapped in darkness?” And, although it is clear that he does not exist, why is it desired that “the shadow of death should cover him?” Or what cloud dwells above him, what twisting of bitterness surrounds him? Or what darkness takes possession of that night, which nothing holds in existence? Or how do you want what has already passed to become lonely? Or how can one who waits for the light experience inaccessibility of perception and not be in any state of himself? To these words he also adds: Why didn’t I die from the womb? Why didn't I leave my spirit when I came out of the womb? Why were my knees holding me down? Or why breasts so I can suck? For now I should lie still and be at peace, I should be asleep and be at peace. If he had died immediately in the womb, would he have been entitled to a reward for this destruction? To what extent do aborted children enjoy eternal peace? Every person who has not freed himself from the water of rebirth is bound and shackled by the guilt of original guilt. But what the water of baptism has for us is either only faith did first for the children, or, for those who are older, the virtue of sacrifice, or, for all who descended from the line of Abraham, the mystery of circumcision. That every living creature is conceived in the guilt of our first parent, the Prophet testifies, saying: “And my mother conceived me in sin.” [Ps. 51:5 ] And that he who is not washed in the water of salvation does not lose the penalty of original sin, the Truth plainly declares of itself in these words: “Unless a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” [In. 3, 5] How is it that he wishes that he should “die in the womb,” and that he believes that he could obtain peace from the gift of this death, when it is clear that the peace of life could not be for him unless the mysterious divine knowledge in any way freed him from the guilt of original sin? He also adds with whom he could rest, saying: with the kings and counselors of the earth, who have built desert places for themselves. Who does not know that the kings and advisers of the earth are far from being alone in this, they are surrounded by countless crowds of followers? and with what difficulty do they come to rest, being tied with tight knots of such varied cares! As the Scripture testifies, where it says: But the mighty men will be greatly tormented. [ Prem. 6, 6]. Consequently, the Truth pronounces these words in the Gospel: to whom much is given, much will be required. [ OK. 12, 48 ] He also implies with whom he would like to spend this rest, in the words: Or with the princes who had gold and filled their houses with silver. [Matt. 19, 23 ] It is rare for those who have gold to go to rest, since the Truth speaks for itself: the rich will hardly enter the Kingdom of Heaven. [Mark 10, 23] And what joys in another life can those who here strive to increase wealth expect? Nevertheless, that our Redeemer might further show that this event is a most rare one, and is only possible through the supernatural influence of God, He says: “With men it is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” [Matt. 19, 26 ] Therefore, since on the surface these words contradict reason, the letter itself indicates that in these words the Saint does not say anything according to the letter. But if we first consider the nature of the other curses in Holy Scripture, we can more accurately trace the meaning of this one, which was uttered by the mouth of blessed Job. For how is it that David, who did not repay evil to those who punished him with evil, curses the mountains of Gilboa with the following words: “You are the mountains of Gilboa, let there be neither dew nor rain on you, nor fields of offering; for there the shield of Saul is disgracefully thrown away, as if it had not been anointed with oil”? [ 2 Sam. 1, 21] How is it possible that Jeremiah, seeing that his preaching was hampered by the hardness of his hearers, uttered a curse, saying: “Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, saying: “You have a boy”? [Jer. 20:15 ] What then did the mountains of Gilboa do when Saul died, that neither dew nor rain should fall upon them, and that the words of his judgment against them should render them barren and lifeless? Why? Because Gilboa is translated as 'those who descend', while the anointing and death of Saul represent the death of our Mediator; The mountains of Gilboa are not an inconspicuous image of the uplifted hearts of the Jews, who, merging in the death of Christ, that is, the Anointed One, allow themselves to descend in pursuit of the desires of this world. And since the anointed king in them dies a bodily death, they also remain without all the dew of grace; of which it is also well said that they cannot be fields of firstfruits. Because the high minds of the Jews do not bear the “first fruits,” because at the coming of our Redeemer, most of them remaining unfaithful, they did not want to follow the first beginnings of faith; since the Holy Church, enriched for its first fruits by a multitude of pagans, will hardly, at the end of the world, accept into its arms the Jews whom it can find, and gathering only the last, will lay them down as the remnant of its fruits. From the remnant of which Isaiah has these words: “For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return.” [Is. 10, 22] However, the mountains of Gilboa may be cursed by the mouth of the Prophet, because when the earth dries up, no fruit grows, the owners of the land may be stricken with the calamity of this immensity, so that they themselves may receive the sentence of damnation, who have received as a just reward for their iniquities the death of a king among them. But how did it happen that from the lips of the Prophet this man received a sentence of damnation, who brought his father the news of his birth? Surely it has a much deeper secret inside, since it is devoid of human meaning on the outside. For perhaps, if it sounded reasonable on the outside, we would never be inspired to strive for inner meaning; and thus he all the more fully implies something within, which shows nothing reasonable without. For although the Prophet came to this world from his mother’s womb to be an object of sorrow, what was the fault of the messenger of his birth? But what is the personality of the Prophet, 'fluctuating here and there [fluctuantis], if not the variability of man, which arose from the duty of punishment? And what does his 'father' express if not this world into which we are born? And who is this man who "brings tidings of our birth to the father," rescuing our old enemy, who, when he sees us wavering in our thoughts, incites evil men, who have the advantage of the power of this world, to convince us of our fall, and who, when he sees us commit acts of weakness, extols them with approval as courageous, and speaks as if of the birth of boys, when he rejoices that we have been found to distort the truth by deceiving? He tells his father that the birth is a boy as he reveals to the world the one he has managed to persuade to become a corrupter of innocence. When someone who has committed a sin or is proud is told: “You acted like a man,” what is this if not what is reported in the world about the birth of a person? This man is righteously cursed because his message testifies to the vile joy of our corrupter. Thus, through these curses of Holy Scripture we learn that in the case of blessed Job we must expect a curse in his words, lest he, whom God rewards for these wounds and these words, be presumptuously condemned by the erring reader for his words. Now, therefore, that we have to some extent cleared up the questions which were to be the object of our inquiry in the preface, let us proceed to discuss and follow the words of the historical form. Historical interpretation Art. 1, 2, 3. After this Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. And Job said: Let the day on which I was born perish. 1. What is said here, “He opened his mouth,” is not to be neglected. For from what the Scripture lightly mentions, we understand that this is to be followed with reverence. Just as we know nothing of what closed vessels contain within, but when the mouths of the vessels are opened, we discover what is contained within; so the hearts of the saints, which remain hidden for a long time, when their mouths are opened, become manifest. And when they open their thoughts, they say that they open their lips, so that we, with full attention, hasten to find out, as in open vessels, what they contain, and to revive ourselves with their inner aroma. That is why, when the Lord was about to pronounce His high commandments on the mountain, the words precede: “And he opened his mouth and taught them”; [Matt. 5, 2] although in this place it should also be understood that He then opened His mouth, setting forth the commandments in which He had opened His mouth to the Prophets for a long time. But to understand the expression "After this" requires very great attention to see the high quality of everything that is done in its true light over time. First, we have described the waste of his property, the destruction of his children, the pain of his wounds, the convictions of his wife, the coming of his friends, who, it is said, tore their clothes, shed tears with loud cries, covered their heads with dust and sat for a long time on the ground in silence, and then we add: After this Job opened his mouth and cursed his day; it is obvious that from the very order of the story, duly weighed, it can be concluded that he could not pronounce the curse in a spirit of impatience, who raised the voice of the curse while his friends were still silent. For if he had cursed under the influence of passion, undoubtedly, having heard of the loss of his property and the death of his sons, his grief would have prompted him to curse. But we have already heard what he said then. For he said: The Lord gave, and the Lord took away. [ Job 1, 21 ] Again, if he had cursed under the influence of passion, he might have uttered the curse when he was struck bodily, or when he was maliciously advised by his wife. But we have already learned what answer he gave then; for he says: You speak like one of the ignorant. What? Shall we accept good from the hand of God and not accept evil? [Job 2, 10] But after this it is said that his friends came, shed tears, sat down, remained silent, after which it is immediately added that he allegedly cursed his day. Thus, it is too great a contradiction to imagine that out of impatience he uttered a voice of curse, no one pushed him or forced him to do it, when we know that amid the loss of all his property and the death of his children, amid the bodily suffering, the evil advice of his wife, he only expressed great gratitude to his Creator with a humble heart. It is obvious with what feelings he said this when he was at peace, who, even in suffering, uttered such praise to God. Then, when he was no longer in pain, he could not be guilty of pride, for even his pain from the rod only showed that he was full of humility. But since we know for sure that the Holy Scripture forbids cursing, how can we say that it is sometimes done correctly when we know that it is prohibited by the same Holy Scripture? 2. But let it be known that Holy Scripture speaks of cursing in two ways, namely, one kind of curse which it enjoins, and another kind which it condemns. After all, a curse is pronounced in one way by the decision of justice, and in another way by the evil will of revenge. Thus, the curse was pronounced by decree of justice over the first man when he fell into sin and heard the words: Cursed is the earth for your sake. [ Gen. 3, 17] The curse is pronounced by decree of justice when Abraham is told: I will curse those who curse you. Again, since a curse may be pronounced not by the merit of justice, but by the evil will of vengeance, we have this reminder from the voice of the Apostle Paul in his sermon, where he says: Bless, and curse not; [Rom. 12, 14 ] and again: but blasphemers will not inherit the kingdom of God. [ 1 Cor. 6, 10 ] Thus, God is considered to curse, and at the same time man is forbidden to curse, because what man does out of evil revenge, God does only with the precision and perfection of justice. But when holy men pronounce a judgment of damnation, they do not go beyond this desire of vengeance, but do it with the severity of justice, for they see within themselves God's exact judgment, and understand that they are bound to strike the touches of evil without with a curse; and they do not sin in damnation in the same degree as they do not contradict the internal judgment. And this is why Peter reflected the sentence of the curse on Simon, when he offered him money, with the words: “Let your money perish with you”; [Acts 8:20] because the one who said not “perish,” but “let him perish,” showed that he was not saying this in the indicative, but in the desirable mood. Therefore Elijah said to the two Pentecostal captains who came to him, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you”; [2 Kings 1, 10] and on what reasonable grounds the truth of the statements of each of the two was established, the case demonstrated. After all, Simon also died in eternal destruction, and fire, coming down from on high, consumed two Pentecostal captains. Thus, the subsequent miracle [virtus] testifies to the intention with which the sentence of damnation is pronounced. Because when the innocence of the curser remains, and the cursed by this curse is consumed to the point of complete destruction, from the end points of both sides we gather that the sentence is raised and brought down on the offender from the one Judge of all things. 3. Thus, if we carefully evaluate the words of blessed Job, his curse does not come from the malice of the sinner, but from the justice of the judge, not from one who is excited by passion, but from one who is sober in instruction; for he who pronounced such a righteous sentence in the curse did not succumb to the evil of confusion of mind, but conveyed the precepts of wisdom. In fact, he saw his friends cry and scream, saw them tear their clothes, saw them sprinkle dust on their heads, saw them speechless at the thought of his suffering; and the saint realized that those whose hearts were set on temporary well-being perceived him, comparing his feelings with their own, as one who was broken by his temporary misfortune. He believed that no one would cry for him in despair, although he was stricken with temporary misfortune, except those who themselves had denied their souls the hope of inner well-being; and, while he outwardly poured out the voice of sorrow, he showed the inwardly wounded people the virtue of the healing medicine, saying: “Let the day on which I was born be lost.” 4. What is meant by “the day of our birth” if not the entire period of our mortal existence? As long as this holds us firmly in the vices of this changeable state of ours, the immutability of eternity does not reveal itself to us. So, the one who already sees the day of eternity finds it difficult to endure the day of his mortal existence. And notice that he does not say, “Let the day on which I was created perish,” but, “Let the day on which I was born perish.” For man was created in the day of righteousness, but now he is born in a time of guilt; for Adam was created, but Cain was the first man who was born. So what does it mean to curse the day of your birth, if not to say directly: “Let the day of change perish, and let the light of eternity shine”? 5. But since we are accustomed to speak of cessation in two ways (the first way is when we wish that something should no longer exist, and the second way is when we wish it to be bad), the words added in relation to this day: “Let there be a cloud over it: let it be shrouded in bitterness” [Vulg.], clearly show that he does not want this day to disappear in the sense that it should be no more, but that it should be bad; for that which is completely destroyed and does not exist can never be “shrouded in bitterness.” Now this period of our changing condition is not intended for the day to disappear (i.e., pass) so as to be in distress, but so as to cease completely, as the Angel testifies in Holy Scripture, saying: “I swear by Him who lives forever and ever, that there will be no more time” [Rev. 10, 6]. Although the Prophet says: “Their time will last forever” [Ps. 81, 15 ], yet, since time ends every second, he designates their end by the name "time", showing that, without any exaggeration, they come to an end, being cut off from the joys of the inner Vision. Now, since this period of our mortal state does not perish so far as to be in an evil state, but so that it is not at all, we must inquire what it means that it should perish, not that it should not be, but that it should be in a bad state. Now the human soul or angelic spirit is so immortal that it is capable of death, and so mortal that it can never die. Since she is deprived of a happy life either because of sin or because of punishment; but she never loses her fundamental existence, either because of sin or because of punishment: she ceases one type of life, but even in dying she is not subject to the end of each type of existence. So we can say in one word that she is both immortally mortal and mortally immortal. Then, when he wishes the day to perish, and soon after it is said that it will 'turn into bitterness, who would we think that the holy man calls 'day', if not the fallen spirit, which in death exists in the life of the fundamental being? Whom destruction does not remove from life, when, in the midst of eternal suffering, immortal death kills, while preserves him, whose fall, having fallen, as he already is, from the glory of his blessed state, is still desired in no other way than that, restrained by deserved punishments, he might even lose the freedom to tempt. 6. Yes, he presents himself as day, by seducing him with prosperity; and its end in the darkness of night, for it leads to misfortune; thus he revealed the day when he said: In the day that you eat of it, then your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods; [ Gen. 3, 5] but it led to the night, when it led to the darkness of mortality; therefore, day is the offered promised possibility of better things, and night is precisely the manifested experience of evils. The old enemy is day, as created by nature as good, but he is night, as by his own merits plunged into darkness. He is the day when, promising good things, he disguises himself as an angel of light in the eyes of men, as Paul testifies, saying: For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light; [ 2 Cor. 11, 14 ] but he is the night when he clouds the minds of those who agree with him with the darkness of error. So may the holy man, who in his own sorrows bemoaned the fate of the whole human race and saw nothing special for himself in his own special suffering, may he remember the original cause of sin and soften the pain of punishment by considering its justice. Let him look at man and see from where and where he has fallen, and exclaim: let the day on which he was born disappear, and the night on which it was said: “Dream, child-man.” It is as if he were saying in simple words: “Let the hope perish that was offered by the fallen Angel, who, masquerading as day, shone with the promise of the divine nature, but appearing again at night, covered the light of our immortal nature with darkness. Let our old enemy perish, who showed the light of promises and bestowed the darkness of sin; who, as if presenting himself during the day with his flattery, led us into the night of absolute darkness, sealing our hearts with blindness.” Continues: verse 4. Let that day turn into darkness. 7. This day shines in the hearts of men, when the convictions of his evil are counted as our goods, and what is within is never seen; but when his wickedness is seen as it is, the day of false promises is, as it were, eclipsed by a certain darkness spread before the eyes of our judgment, in this respect, that such as he is in his inner essence, such he is perceived in his deceit, and so 'the day becomes darkness' when we consider unfavorable even those things which he exposes as advantageous, while he convinces them. "The day becomes darkness" when our old enemy, even when hiding under the cover of his seductions, is perceived by us as he is when he tries to devour us, so that he can never laugh at us with imaginary prosperity, as if in the light of day, dragging us with real misfortune into the darkness of sin. Continues; May God not see this from above, and may no light shine on it. 8. Just as Almighty God could create good things out of nothing, so when He desired, He also restored the lost good things through the mystery of His Incarnation. He now created two entities to contemplate Himself, namely, the Angelic and the human, but Pride struck both and threw them from the vertical position of natural righteousness. But one of them had a fleshly shell, the other did not carry any weakness that comes from the flesh. An angelic being is one spirit, and a person is both spirit and flesh. Therefore, when the Creator took mercy to make atonement, it was just that He should restore to Himself this creation, which, having committed sin, clearly had something of infirmity; and it was also just that the retreating Angel should be cast into still greater depths, in proportion to the fact that when he fell from resolute standing, he did not bear any infirmity of the flesh. And therefore the Psalmist, when he spoke of the Redeemer's compassion for mankind, at the same time justly stated the very reason of His mercy in these words: And He remembered that they are but flesh [Ps. 78, 39]. It is as if he said: “Because He saw their weaknesses, He did not want to punish their sins severely.” There is another circumstance in which it was appropriate for a lost person to be restored, and it is impossible for a spirit who set himself up for restoration, that is, an angel who fell through his own malice, but the malice of another brought the person down. Since mankind has been brought to the light of repentance by the coming of the Redeemer, but the apostate angel cannot be brought back by any hope of forgiveness or change of appeal to the light of a restored state, it may well be said, “Let not God look upon this from on high, nor let any light shine upon it.” As if it were expressly stated: "Since he brought darkness upon himself, may he forever carry what he himself has created, and may he never restore the light of his former state, since he abandoned it without even being convinced to do so." It goes on to say, “Let darkness and the shadow of death defile him.” 9 . By “the shadow of death” we must understand “oblivion,” because just as death ends life, so oblivion ends memory. Because the fallen angel is therefore consigned to eternal oblivion, he is shrouded in the shadow of death. Therefore let him say: let darkness and the shadow of death pollute him; those. “Let him be crushed by the blindness of error so that he will never again rise to the light of repentance through the remembrance of the Divine gaze. The words continue; Let the cloud be over him [Vulgate]: and let him be surrounded by bitterness. 10. It is one thing that our old enemy is now suffering, bound in the chains of his own evil, and another thing that he must suffer in the end. Since he has fallen from the rank of inner light, he now confuses himself with the darkness of delusion; and subsequently he is carried away by the bitterness that, due to his well-deserved voluntary blindness, he painfully faces the eternal torment of hell. Let it be said: 'What is it that he, who has lost the calm of the inner light, now endures as a foretaste of his final punishment? Let the cloud cover it. Moreover, let that subsequent curse be added which consumes him without end.' Let him be squeezed in bitterness; for everything compressed does not seem to show the end in any way, since it does not show where it begins, nor does it reveal where it ends. Thus the old enemy says that he is squeezed in bitterness, because not only every punishment, but punishment without end or limit awaits his pride; which curse itself then begins its journey when the righteous Judge comes at the Last Judgment; and from here it is well added: 'As for this night, let the dark whirlwind take possession of it.' 11. For it is written: Our God will come and will not be silent; fire will devour before Him, and there will be great turbulence all around Him. [Ps. 50, 3] So a dark whirlwind covers that night, as the fallen angel from that fearful storm is taken away from the strict Judge to suffer eternal torment; Thus, this night is engulfed in a whirlwind, as his blind pride is struck by strict supervision. Further: Let it not be added to the number of days of the year; let it not be included in the number of months. 12. By year we understand, not without reason, the preaching of the highest grace. Just as a period of a year ends in a successive series of days, so in heavenly grace the complex life of virtue ends. By year we can also mean the multitude of the redeemed. Just as a year is formed from the number of days, so the union of all the righteous leads to this countless number of elect. Now Isaiah foretells this year of the completed multitude in these words: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor: He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives and revelation to those who are bound; proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [Isa. 61, 1]. For the favorable year of the Lord is proclaimed by the fact that the future multitude of believers is foreshadowed as destined to be illuminated by the light of truth. And what is meant by 'days', if not the minds of the elect? And what are the months, if not their separate Churches, which constitute one Catholic Church? So, let that night not be connected with the days of the year, nor let it be included in the number of months. For our old enemy, surrounded by the darkness of his pride, does see the coming of the Redeemer, but never returns to be forgiven with the Chosen. And from here it is written: For it is true that He did not take on the nature of angels, but He took on the seed of Abraham [Heb. 2, 16]. For it was for this reason that our Redeemer was made, not an Angel, but a Man, because He had to be made of the same nature which He redeemed, that at the same time he might release the lost angel without taking his nature, and restore man by taking his nature in Himself. These days, which remain in the inner light, can also be taken for angelic spirits, and the months for their ranks and dignities. For each individual spirit, in so far as it shines, is a 'day', but since they differ in certain prescribed virtues, some are Thrones, some Dominions, some Principalities, and some Powers, according to this distribution of ranks they are called 'months'. But since our old enemy never returns to earn the light, and is never restored to the order of the highest ranks, he is not counted in the days of the year or in the months. For the blindness of pride, of which he is guilty, is so rooted in him that he no longer returns to those heavenly ranks of inner radiance. It no longer mixes with the rows of light that stand firm and straight, because, by virtue of its own darkness, it is always suppressed down towards the abyss. And since he forever remains alien to the society of this heavenly country, it is rightly added: Art. 7. Behold, let this night be lonely, let it not be worthy of praise. 13. This night is made solitary, in the sense that it is separated by an eternal break with the communication of the earthly world. However, it can also be understood in another way, namely, that he loses the man whom he made his companion in destruction, and that the enemy perishes alone with his body (i.e., the wicked), while many whom he destroyed are restored through the grace of the Redeemer. The night then becomes lonely as the chosen ones rise up and our old enemy is left alone before the eternal fires of hell. And this is well said: let it not deserve praise. Because when mankind, surrounded by the darkness of error, mistook stones for gods, in that they worshiped idols, what else did they do but glorify the deeds of their deceiver? Therefore, Paul correctly notes: we know that an idol is nothing. But I say that what the pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice to demon people. How else could it be with those who bowed themselves down to the worship of idols, if not that they sang the darkness of the night? But here! We now see that this night is known as unworthy of 'any praise', since the worship of idols is now condemned by the redeemed human race; and that the night left alone is that there is no one who goes with the accursed apostate spirit to suffer. Ongoing; Art. 8. Let those who curse the day, those who are ready to awaken Leviathan, curse her. 14. In the old translation it is not written like that, but: Let the one who cursed the day prophesy, even the one who takes the great whale [sic LXX]. These words clearly show that the destruction of the Antichrist, which will be at the end of the world, was predicted by a holy man. For the evil spirit, which rightfully is night, at the end of the world pretends to be day, by showing itself to men as God, while by deception it assumes the radiance of the Divine and exalts itself above everything that is called God or that is worshiped. [ 2 Thess. 2, 4] Therefore, he who curses the day curses the night; for He now destroys his wickedness, Who then by the light of His coming will also extinguish the strength of his might. And from here it is well added: Who will take the great whale. For the power of this whale is captured like prey in the water, since the cunning of our old enemy is defeated by the sacrament of Baptism. 15. But what the Old Version says of the Author of all things, this translation, which we receive from the Hebrew and Arabic, refers to His chosen Angels. For it is said about them: “Let them curse him who curses the day.” For that spirit in its pride wished to pass itself off as a day even among the Angelic Powers, while, as if in the power of the Divine, it perceived itself above the rest and carried away such countless legions to destruction. But those who with humble spirits stood steadfastly in the Source of their being, when they saw the night in its perverted ways; having trampled underfoot the day of his brightness, thinking humbly of themselves, they now show us the darkness of his deception and show us how we should despise his false splendor. So let it be said about the night of darkness that blinds the eyes of human fragility: “Cursed be those who curse the day”; that is: "Let these chosen Spirits, condemning, renounce the darkness of his errors, who already see the greatness of his radiance, starting from the very beginning, as a deception." And well added: “Who is ready to awaken [Vulg. thus] Leviathan.” For "Leviathan" is translated as "their addition." Whose “adding” if not the “adding” of people? And this is rightly called “their addition”; for ever since, by his evil suggestion, he introduced the first sin into the world, he never ceases to add to it day after day, leading to worse things. Or is it really called Leviathan as a reproach to him, i.e. called "adding to people". For he found them immortal in Paradise, but by promising the divine nature to immortal beings, he, as it were, pledged to add to them something beyond what they were. But, like the evil one, he announced that he would give what they did not have, he cunningly robbed them of even what they had. And that is why the Prophet describes this very Leviathan in these words: Leviathan, the serpent-mason: even Leviathan, that crooked serpent. For this Leviathan, in the matter which he had promised to add to the man, crept up upon him with winding ways; for although he falsely promised things impossible, he actually stole even those that were possible. But we must find out why the one who spoke about the 'snake', adding in the same place the epithet 'curved', inserted the word 'barbell', unless in the flexibility of the snake we have compliant softness, and in the 'barbell' we have the hardness of a stubborn nature. Thus, to designate it as both hard and soft, he calls it a 'barbell' and a 'snake'. For by his evil nature he is cruel, and by his flatteries he is gentle; that's why it is called 'barbell [translation of the Synodal edition "piercing"]', since it strikes even to death; and 'snake', in that it gently penetrates through deceptive actions. 16. Now this Leviathan is currently selecting the Spirits of the Angelic Principality, imprisoning them close in the bottomless abyss. Where it is written: And I saw an angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand; and he seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; [ Open 20, 1–3 ] and cast him into the abyss. However, at the end of the world, they again call him into more open conflicts and release him against us in all his strength. And so it is written again in the same place: Until the thousand years are fulfilled, and after that he must be released. This apostate angel, while he was created to shine supreme among all the other legions of Angels, has fallen so low in exalting himself that he is now overthrown under the hordes of Angels who stand upright, be it that he is imprisoned by them as they serve our good, and now he must lie hidden from view, or that at that time, releasing him for our trial, he is released to exercise all his power against us. Now, since the proud apostate Spirit is restrained by those chosen Spirits, who, being humble, would not follow him, and, being doers, it is commanded that he should one day be called to open conflict, that he might be utterly destroyed, it is well said who is ready to awaken Leviathan; but since the cunning enemy has not yet risen to wage open war, let him show how this night is now darkening the minds of some people by hidden influences. Should; Art. 9. Let the stars be darkened by his shadows. 17. In Holy Scripture, under the title of stars, we sometimes represent the righteousness of the saints, which shines in the darkness of this life, and sometimes the false pretense of hypocrites, who display all the good things they do to win the praise of men; for if the virtues had not been stars, Paul would never have said to his disciples: “Among a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lamps in the world” [Philip. 2, 15]. Again, if among those who seem to do right, there would not be some who seek by their conduct to win the reward of human respect, Jn. would never have seen the stars falling from heaven, where he says: “The dragon let out his tail and threw down a third of the stars of heaven” [Rev. 12, 4]. Now some of the stars are being drawn by the dragon's tail in that in the Antichrist's latest efforts to conquer the people, some who seem to shine will be carried away. For to draw the stars of heaven to earth means, through love for earthly things, to draw those into the perverted paths of open error who seem devoted to the desire for heavenly life. Because there are those who seem to shine before people’s eyes with unusual deeds; but since these very deeds are not the fruit of a pure heart, being blinded in their secret thoughts, they are shrouded in the darkness of this night, and these are often lost in more external deeds, which they do not perform with any purity of heart. And since the night allows it to be pierced, when even in the midst of good deeds the intention of the heart is not purified, it will be rightly said: let the stars dim from its shadow; those. 'let the dark malice of our old enemy prevail over those who shine in the eyes of men with good deeds, and let them reject the light of praise which in the eyes of human judgment they have received;' because they are 'shrouded in the darkness of night,' when their life becomes a shameful open mistake, so that they may indeed appear outwardly as in practice as they are not ashamed to present themselves to the Divine sight in their secret hearts. It goes on; Art. 9. Let her seek light, but does not have it; let her also not see the dawn of the day. 18. In the Gospel, Truth says: “I am the light of the world.” [In. 8, 12] Now, when this same Savior for us people is one Person with the assembly of the good, for He Himself is the Head of the Body, and we are all the Body of this Head, so our old enemy is one Person with the whole society of the damned; in that he, as the head, exceeds them all in wickedness, and while they serve what he prompts, they cling tightly to him, like a body connected below to the head. So, it is true that everything that is said about this night, i.e. about our old enemy, must be applied to his body, i.e. to all evil people. Therefore, since our Redeemer is the light of humanity, how is it that it is said of this night: “Let it seek light and not find it”; but there are some who manifest themselves as affirming with words the faith which they destroy with deeds? Of whom Paul says: “They profess that they know God, but by their works they deny Him”; [Tit. 1, 16] with them, indeed, either the deeds they do are bad, or they follow good deeds without a good heart. For they do not strive for eternal rewards as the fruit of their actions, but only for fleeting partiality. And yet, because they hear themselves praised as saints, they believe that they are indeed saints, and in proportion as they consider themselves blameless according to the opinion of many, they are the more secure in looking forward to the Day of Strict Accounting. Of whom the Prophet speaks well: “Woe to you who desire the Day of the Lord.” [Amos 5, 18] On such blessed ones, Job pronounces the sentence due to them, speaking in the spirit of prediction, and not as one who wishes it: “Let him seek the light, but let him not find it.” That night, I mean the enemy of darkness, seeks light in his members, but does not see it; whether it be those who keep the faith without works, these, trusting that they may be saved at the last Judgment by the right of the same faith, will find their hope to be in vain, since by their lives they have frustrated the faith which in the confession of their lips they supported; or they who, for the sake of human approval, make a show of doing good, expect in vain the reward of their good deeds from the Judge when He comes; because, although they do this for the recognition of praise, they have already received their reward from the lips of men. As the Truth testifies, which says: Truly, I say to you, they have their reward [Matt. 6, 2. 5.]; and here it is rightly added: Even if he does not see the sunrise. 19. For morning is the name of the Church, which is changed from the darkness of its sins into the light of righteousness. And so the Bride, admiring her in the Song of Songs, says: Who is she who comes forth like the morning rising? [Song. 6, 10 ] For the Church of the “elect” arises like the morning, leaving the darkness of its former iniquity and moving into the radiance of a new light. Therefore, in the light that is revealed at the arrival of the strict Judge, the body of our enemy, condemned, does not see the eastern dawn, for when the strict Judge comes, every sinner, being covered with the darkness of his own merits, does not know with what wonderful brilliance the Holy Church ascends to the inner light of the heart. For then the mind of the Chosen rises high to be enlightened by the rays of the Divine light, and to the extent that it is penetrated by the light of this Face, it rises above itself in the radiance of grace. Then the Holy Church becomes a full morning when she completely and forever leaves the darkness of her state of mortality and ignorance. Thus, in the Judgment it is still morning, but in the Kingdom it becomes day. For although, together with the renewal of our bodies, she already begins to see the light at the Judgment, her vision of this is more fully realized in the Kingdom. Thus the rising of the morning is the beginning of the Church in the light which the rejected can never see, because they are closed and forced into darkness by the weight of their evil deeds before the sight of the Righteous Judge. And therefore the Prophet rightly says: “Let the wicked be put out of the way, so that he does not see the glory of God.” [Is. 26, 10. Septuagint] That is why the Psalmist speaks these words about the dawn: “Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy face from the pride of men.” [Ps. 31, 20] For each Elect at the Judgment is hidden in the face of the Divine in the inner vision, while the blindness of those rejected without is driven out and confused by the strict administration of justice. 20. And we also interpret this, not without reason, in relation to the present time, if we carefully examine the hearts of the hypocrites. For the proud and hypocritical look at the deeds of good people from the outside and find that such are praised by people for their actions, and admire their high position, and see that they receive praise for their good deeds, but do not notice how carefully they shy away from such praise; they consider overt actions, but do not know that they proceed solely from the principle of inner hope. For all who sparkle with the true light of righteousness are first changed from the darkness of the inner intention of the heart, so that they wholly abandon the inward obscurity of earthly lust, and wholly direct their hearts to the desire of the light from above, so that, while they appear full of light to others, they may not be in darkness to themselves; Thus, people who believe that because they pay attention to the works of the righteous, but do not examine their hearts, imitate them in that from which they can receive external praise, but not in that by which they can rise inwardly to the light of righteousness; and they are, as it were, blind to the dawning of the rising light, since they do not consider it necessary to pay attention to the intention of the religious mind. Allegorical interpretation 21. A holy man, filled with the virtue of the prophetic Spirit, may also have his eyes fixed on the unbelief of Judah at the coming of the Redeemer, and with these words he may perhaps speak prophetically of the disastrous consequences of her blindness, as if in the character of him who expresses the desire, saying, let him seek the light, but find it not; let him not see the sunrise. For Judea 'sought for light, but did not find it; for according to the prophecy she did look for the Man Redeemer who was to come, but never recognized Him when He came; and the eyes of the mind which she had opened wide to expect, she closed to the presence of the Light; She did not even see the dawn of the morning, since she neglected to venerate these first beginnings of the Holy Church, and, believing that she was weakened by the deaths of her members, she did not know to what strength she had actually achieved. But just as, speaking of the unbelievers, he designated the members of the evil head, so he again turns his speech to the very head of the evil one, saying: Art. 10. For she did not close the doors of my mother’s womb and did not hide sorrow from my eyes. 22. What is the womb of his mother for each individual person, became the primary habitat in Paradise for the entire human race. For from there came the family of humanity, as if from the womb, and, striving to increase the race, as if to increase the body, it came out. There our conception was secured, where Man, the source of humanity, had his abode, but the serpent opened the mouth of that womb, for by his wickedness he persuaded and tore apart the decree of heaven in the heart of man. The serpent opened the mouth of this womb, thereby destroying the barriers of the mind, which were strengthened by warnings from above. Let a holy man, suffering in punishment, turn his mind away from sin. Let him mourn this, that neglect of darkness, that is, the dark promptings of our old enemy, has taken up residence in the mind of man; for the fact that the mind of man agreed to his cunning incitements to his own betrayal, and let him say: 'Because he did not close the door of his mother's womb and did not hide the sorrow from my eyes.' Don't let it bother us that he complains that he's the only one who hasn't shut down the one he hates for opening the gates of Heaven. 'Because he opened,' he calls not closed; and 'he laid it on him,' and did not hide the sorrow from me. If he seemed to 'hide the sadness,' if he remained silent, and 'closed,' if he refrained from intruding. He thinks carefully about whom he speaks, and believes that it would be as if an evil spirit gave us benefits, if only he did not impose losses on our heads. Thus we say of robbers that they give life to their captives, if they do not take it. 23. It is good to go over these points again from the beginning and, according to what we observe in practice in real life, consider it in a moral sense. Blessed Job, observing how arrogantly mankind, after the fall of his soul from the original state, rose in prosperity, and with what horror it was broken by unfavorable fate, returned in his imagination to that unchangeable state which he could preserve in Paradise, and in what a disastrous light he saw the fallen state of our mortal existence, equally changeable between misfortune and prosperity, he showed by cursing it in these words: Art. 3. May the day I was born disappear; and the night when it was said: “Behold, a man is conceived.” 24. It seems like a day when the fortunes of this world smile upon us, but it is a day that ends in night, for temporary prosperity often leads to the darkness of sorrow. The Prophet condemned this day of good fortune when he said: “Not a single day of man have I desired [‘diem hominis’ Vulg.], You know this.” [Jerem. 17, 16] And on this night our Lord declared that He would suffer at the close of His Incarnation, when He said through the Psalmist, as if in the past: “My bowels also instructed me in the night.” [Ps. 16:7 ] But by 'day' one can understand the pleasures of sin, and by 'night' the inner blindness through which a person allows himself to be led to fall in committing sin. And therefore he desires that the day should disappear, that all the evil arts which are seen in sin should be brought to naught by the strict hand of justice. He also wishes for the night to disappear, so that what the blinded mind does even in yielding to consent can be eliminated through the punishment of repentance. 25. But we must examine why a person is said to be born in “day” and conceived in “night”? Scripture uses the term "man" in three ways: sometimes in reference to nature, sometimes in reference to sin, sometimes in reference to weakness. Man is called so in relation to nature, as it is said: Let us make man in Our image and likeness. [ Gen. 1, 26 ] He is called man in relation to sin, as it is written: I said: you are gods, and you are all sons of the Most High; but you will die like people. [Ps. 81, 6. 7.] It’s as if he said directly: “you will perish as transgressors.” And therefore Paul says: For where is envy and strife and division among you, are you not carnal, and walk as men? [ 1 Cor. 3, 3] As if he said: “You who carry contradictions in your minds, do you not sin with the spirit of corrupt human nature?” He is called a man in regard to his weakness, as it is written: Cursed is the man who trusts in man. [Jer. 17, 5] As if he said directly: “in weakness.” Thus a man is born in the day, but he is conceived in the night, for he never falls under the spell of sin until he is first made weak by the voluntary darkness of his mind. Because he first becomes blind in understanding, and then he enslaves himself to vile pleasure. Let me then say: let the day perish on which I was born, and the night on which it was said: Man was conceived. That is: “Let pleasure perish, which plunged man into sin, and the careless weakness of his mind, in which he was blinded even to the very darkness of consent to evil. So, while a person does not carefully note the temptations of pleasure, he even quickly drags himself into the night of the most vile deeds. We must then watch with a lively mind, so that when sin begins to caress, the mind can perceive into what destruction it is being plunged. And therefore the words are appropriately added: Art. 4. Let that day be darkness. 26. When ‘the day turns to darkness’, at the very beginning of pleasure we see to what end of destruction sin is hastening us. We 'turn the day into darkness' whenever, by severely punishing ourselves, we turn the pleasant pleasures of evil pleasure into the bitterness of repentance, and when we are in tears, whatever we sin for the satisfaction of our secret heart. Because no believer ignores that the thoughts of the heart will be scrutinized at the Judgment, as Paul testifies when he says: Their thoughts meanwhile accuse or justify one another; [Rom. 2:15] examining himself within, he examines his conscience, not sparing himself before the Judgment, so that the strict Judge may now treat him more mercifully, seeing his guilt, which He intends to examine, already punished according to the sin. And therefore it is well added: Let God not demand this from above. 27. God requires those things that He examines by passing judgment on them. He does not demand those whom He forgives so much that He leaves them unpunished later in His Court. Therefore 'on this day', i.e. in this enjoyment of sin, will not be required by the Lord if it is subjected to suicidal punishment according to our will, as Paul testifies when he says: For if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged by the Lord. [ 1 Cor. 11, 31] 'God's demand for our day, then, is His action against our souls in the Judgment, by a strict examination of every instance of the pleasure of sin, in which He thus 'demands', then strikes greatly the one who is found most gentle in forgiving himself. And it follows well, let no light shine on it. For the Lord, appearing at the Judgment, illuminates with His light everything that He then condemns as sin. For what then does not come to the memory of the Judge is, as it were, veiled under some darkness. As it is written: But all the things that are condemned are made manifest through the light. [Eph. 5, 13 ] It was as if some darkness hid the sins of the repentant, about which the Prophet says: “Blessed is he to whom iniquity is forgiven, to whom sin is hidden.” [Ps. 32, 1 ] Thus, everything that is veiled, as if hidden in darkness, that which is not considered in vengeance, is not illuminated by the light on the day of final judgment. After all, all those of our actions that He will not then subject to justice, God’s mercy, in the knowledge of them, still in some way hides from Himself, but all this will become clear in the light that at that time will be revealed before the eyes of all people. Let this day be darkness, in such a way that, through repentance, we can defeat the evil that we do. Let not the Lord demand this day, and let not the light shine upon it, in such a way that while we are struck by our own sin, He Himself will not fall upon it with the bringing of the Final Judgment. 28. But the Judge Himself will come to pierce all things and reach the very core of everything. And since He is present everywhere, there is no place to run where He will not be found. But since He is pacified by tears of self-correction, only the one who, after committing a sin, hides from Him now in repentance receives shelter from His face. And therefore it is rightly said in addition about the day of enjoyment, Art. 7. Let darkness and the shadow of death envelop him. 29. Then indeed darkness darkens the day, when the pleasure of our inclinations is struck by the pangs of repentance. Darkness can also refer to secret decisions. After all, what we see in the light is known to us, but in the dark we either do not distinguish anything, or our eyes are confused by uncertain vision. Secret indications are then like a certain kind of darkness before our eyes, being completely beyond our understanding. And therefore it is written about God: He made darkness his hiding place; [Ps. 18:11] and we know well that we do not deserve forgiveness, but, thanks to the grace of God that precedes us, we are freed from our sins by His secret counsels. Thus darkness colors the day, when the joy of pleasure, which is a fitting theme for tears, is in mercy hidden from that ray of just wrath by His secret decrees. And here the words successfully continue, and the shadow of death. 30. In Holy Scripture, the shadow of death is sometimes understood as oblivion of the mind, sometimes as an imitation of the devil, sometimes as the decay of the flesh. The shadow of death is understood as the oblivion of the mind, because, as stated above, just as death causes what it kills to no longer remain in life, so oblivion causes what it captures to no longer remain in memory. And from here also, because Jn. came to proclaim to the Jewish people that God whom they had forgotten, he rightly told Zechariah that He would give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death; for “to sit in the shadow of death” means to turn the dead to the knowledge of God’s love in a state of oblivion. The shadow of death is understood as an imitation of our old enemy. Since he brought death, he himself is called death, as John testifies, saying, and His name is Death. [ Open 6, 8] And so the shadow of death signifies imitation of him. Since the shadow is formed according to the character of the body, the actions of evil people are cast in a figure corresponding to it. Therefore, when Isaiah saw that the Gentiles had fallen away like our old enemy, and that they had risen again at the rising of the true Sun, he justly remembers, as if in the past, what his eyes saw as certain in the future, saying: They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a great light hath shone. Moreover, the shadow of death is perceived as the disintegration of the flesh, since it is true death, in which the soul is separated from God; so the shadow of death is that in which the flesh is separated from the soul. Therefore, it is rightly said by the Prophet in the words of the Martyrs: 'Though You have crushed us greatly in the place of dragons and covered us with the shadow of death.' [Ps. 44, 19 ] After all, those who, as we know, die not in the spirit, but only in the flesh, cannot in any way say that they are covered with true death, but only with the shadow of death. 31. Why does blessed Job demand the shadow of death to trace the day of evil pleasure, but to erase our sins in the eyes of God he calls for a Mediator between God and man, who must take upon himself for us the death of the flesh only, and who, by the shadow of His own death, must he put an end to the true death of sinners? For He comes to us who were clothed with the bonds of death, both spirit and flesh, and He imputed His one Death to us, and our two deaths, which He found, He dissolved. For if He Himself had taken on both, He would never have freed us from either one or the other. But He accepted one kind out of mercy and condemned them both with justice. He united His single Death with our double death and, by dying, He conquered this double death of ours. And therefore, it was not without reason that He lay in the grave for one day and two nights, namely in the sense that He added the light of His single Death to the darkness of our double death. So, He, who accepted only the death of the flesh for us, endured the shadow of death and removed from the eyes of God the sin that we had committed. Therefore let it be said truly: let darkness and the shadow of death darken it. As if it were said in clear words: “Let Him come who, in order to snatch us up, debtors to the death of the flesh and spirit, can, although not being a debtor himself, extinguish the death of the flesh. ’ But since the Lord does not leave any sin unpunished, for either we ourselves visit it, grieving for it, or God, condemning it, remains, so that the mind always has a vigilant look at correcting itself. Therefore, in whatever particular area each person sees that he is receiving help from mercy, he must, of course, erase its stains in confession. And from here it is quite appropriate to add: let the shadow dwell on him. 32. For just as the eye is confused in the shadow, so the confusion of our mind in repentance is itself called a shadow, for just as a shadow obscures the light of day with a mass of clouds, so confusion darkens the mind with anxious thoughts. One thing is said about this: There is shame, which is glory and grace. [Sir. 4, 21] For when in repentance we remember our misdeeds, we are immediately embarrassed by heaviness and sadness, a crowd of thoughts knocks loudly in our soul, sadness exhausts us, anxiety oppresses us, the soul turns to sadness and, as it were, is darkened by the shadow of some cloud. Now this shadow of confusion oppressed the minds of those who benefited from it, of whom Paul said: What fruit then did you have in those things about which you are now ashamed? [Rom. 6, 21] Let the shadow, then, take over this day of sin, i.e. 'let the punishment of repentance, with due sorrow, destroy the flattery of sin.' And so it is added with propriety: let it be shrouded in bitterness. 33. For the day is surrounded by bitterness when, having felt a return to knowledge, the torment of repentance falls upon the soul after the caresses of sin. We "envelop the day with bitterness" when we consider the punishments that follow the joys of forbidden satisfaction, and shed tears of bitter lamentation around them. For since that which is folded is covered on all sides, we desire that "the day may be shrouded in bitterness," that every man may see on all sides the evils that threaten the crooked ways, and may purify the corruption of self-righteousness with tears of bitter sorrow. 34. But if we hear on that day, which we have designated as the "satisfaction of sin," subject to so many curses, then certainly our tears shed around it can atone for any sin to which the soul has been subjected, touching the satisfaction through negligence, with which visits of repentance the night of that day should be subjected, viz. actual consent to sin? For although it is a lesser fault when the mind is carried away by pleasure under the influence of the flesh, it, by resisting the Spirit, inflicts violence on its own sense of pleasure; yet it is a graver and more complete evil, not only to be attracted to the charm of sin by a sense of pleasure, but also to please it by yielding to consent. Therefore the mind must be cleansed of depravity, suffering more from the hand of repentance, in proportion as it sees itself more filthy from yielding to consent. And therefore it is appropriate to add: Art. 6. As for that night, may a black storm engulf it. 35. For the awakened spirit of sorrow is like a stormy whirlwind. When a person realizes what sin he has committed, when he reflects in detail on the malice of his evil deeds, he darkens his mind with sadness, and the air of calm joy, like excitement, carries away all the inner serenity of his chest in a storm of repentance. Because if the heart, having returned to self-knowledge, had not been crushed by such a storm, the Prophet would never have said: “You are destroying the ships of Tarshish with a strong wind.” [Ps. 48, 7] For Tarshish is translated as “the study of joy.” But when a strong impulse of repentance seizes the mind, it disturbs all "research" to the condemned joy, so that now it delights only in crying, thinks only of what can frighten it. For he puts before his eyes, on the one hand, the severity of justice, on the other, the merits of sin, he sees what punishment he deserves, if the mercy of the sparing Hand is absent, which usually saves from eternal torment through current sorrow. Therefore, “a strong wind destroys the ships of Tarshish,” when the mighty force of repentance disturbs, with healing fears, our minds, which have given themselves up to this world as well as to the sea. Let him then say: “As for that night, let a black storm take possession of it,” i.e. let not the gentleness of safe repose nourish crime, but let the bitterness of repentance break out upon her in pious wrath. 36. But we must remember that when we leave sins unpunished, we “come under the power of the night,” but when we correct those who are under punishment, then we ourselves “take possession of the night” that we created. And the sin of the heart then comes under our right of possession if it is suppressed at its initial stage. And so it is said by the voice of God to Cain, who was experiencing evil thoughts: “Your sin lies at the door. But his desire will be under you, and you will rule over him.” For "sin lies at the door" when it knocks in the mind, and the desire of it is under, and a man "dominates over it," if the iniquity of the heart, being directed against it, is quickly suppressed, and, before it becomes hard, subjected to the vigorous resistance of the mind. Therefore, so that the mind can quickly realize its guilt through repentance and restrain the predatory power of sin under its power, it will be correct to say: as for this night, let a black storm take possession of it; as if it were said in clear words: “Let the mind not become a prisoner of sin, let it never leave sin without repentance.” And since we have a sure hope that what we pursue with tears will never be brought against us by the Judge who is to come, it is rightly added: “Let it not be added to the days of the year; let it not be included in the number of months.” 37. The year of our enlightenment ends when her life’s journey ends before the eternal Judge of the Holy Church. She then receives reward for her labors when, having completed this period of her struggle, she returns to her homeland. Therefore the Prophet says: “You will bless the crown of the year with Your kindness.” Because the Crown of the year is, as it were, “blessed” when the season of labor is over and the reward of virtues is granted. But the days of this year represent individual virtues, and its months represent the manifold deeds of these virtues. But observe, when the mind is lifted up in confidence to have good hope that when the Judge comes he will receive the reward of his virtues, all the evil deeds he has committed also come to mind, and he greatly fears that the strict Judge who comes to reward the virtues will also accurately examine and weight those things that have been done unlawfully, and that when the "year" is completed, the "night" will also not be counted. Let him then say about this night: “Let it not be united with the days of the year, let it not be included in the number of months.” It was as if he were pleading with this stern Judge in these words: 'When the time of the Holy Church is completed, You will reveal Yourself for the final test, so repay the gifts You have bestowed, so that You will not demand the evil that we have committed. For if this 'night is added to the days of the year, everything we have done becomes nothing as a result of our iniquity being taken into account. And the days of our virtues shine no more if they are darkened in Thy eyes by the dark confusion of our night added to the reckoning.' 38. But if we do not make an inquiry into our night, we must be especially careful to examine it carefully, so that no sin goes unpunished, so that the rebellious mind does not have the courage to justify what it has done, and by this justifying reaction do not add iniquity to iniquity. And therefore it is rightly added: “Behold, let this night be lonely and not worthy of praise.” 39. There are men who not only never lament what they do, but continue to support and praise it, and indeed the sin that is supported is doubled. And against this, someone rightly said: “My son, if you have sinned, do not add to it again.” [Sir. 21, 1 ] For he who “adds sin upon sin,” furthermore, maintains what he has done wrong; and he does not "leave the night alone" who adds the support of justification to the dark places of his guilt. Therefore the first man, when he was questioned about the “night” of his error, did not want this “night” to be “lonely”, since in asking this question he was called to repentance, he added the support of self-justification, saying: “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate”; that is, he secretly shifted the blame for his crime onto the Creator; as if he were saying: “You gave me a reason for violation, You who gave me this woman.” Therefore, in the human race, the branch of this sin has been extended from this root to the present time, so that what is done wrong must be even more supported. Let him say then: “Let this light be lonely and not worthy of any praise.” It was as if he were asking in simple words: “Let the guilt we have committed remain alone, lest, while it is praised and supported, it binds us still more in the eyes of our Judge. We, of course, should not have sinned, but it would be good if, without adding others, we left at least those we committed alone.” 40. But what is to be observed here is that he who bears his sin truly hard, whose heart is no longer disposed to love the present state of existence because of longing for prosperity, who sees how deceptive the caresses of this world are, and considers its smiles a kind of persecution; and therefore well added, verse 8. Let him that curseth this day curse him. 41. It was as if he had said in simple words: 'Let those who henceforth despise and trample upon the light of worldly prosperity truly repent and crush the darkness of this night.' After all, if we take ‘day’ to be the joy of pleasure, then what is rightly said about ‘night’ is that let those who curse the day curse it. In fact, they truly punish offenses committed with the misfortunes of repentance, who henceforth does not succumb to any sense of pleasure after deceptive benefits. As for those to whom other evil practices still bring joy, it is all a lie, in whatever form they see them mourning the one guilt of which they have been guilty. But if, as we said above, we thereby understand the cunning design of our ancient enemy, then we should understand that those who curse the ‘night’ curse the ‘day’, since, undoubtedly, they all really punish their past sins, who recognize the snares of the evil deceiver in the most charming recommendation. But well added: Who is ready to awaken Leviathan. 42. For all who with spirit trample upon the things that belong to this world, and with the perfect aspiration of reason desire the things that belong to God, inflame Leviathan against themselves, by inciting his malice, by the motives of their lives and conduct. For those who are subject to his will seem to be in his possession with unshakable light, and their tyrannical king seems to enjoy a kind of security when he rules over their hearts with a power not subject to trembling, but when the spirit of every man is quickened anew by the desire for his Creator; when he abandons the indolence of ignorance and kindles the frost of former insensibility with the fire of holy love; when he remembers his innate freedom and is ashamed that his enemy keeps him as his slave; because this enemy marks that he himself is despised, and sees the ways of God being hijacked, he is wounded that his captive strives against him, and is the same moment seized with envy, the same moment driven to conflict, the same moment rises to send numberless temptations upon the soul that resists him, and spurs himself to all the arts of violence, that by shooting the arrows of temptation he may pierce a heart that he has long held with absolute right. For he slept, as if at peace in a destructive heart. But he awakens, accepting a challenge to battle, when he loses the right to brutal rule. Let those curse this light who are ready to awaken Leviathan, i.e. 'let all who are determined to face sin with cruel judgment, fear not to awaken Leviathan by their temptation.' For thus it is written: 'My son, if you have come to serve the Lord, stand in righteousness and fear; and prepare your soul for temptation.' For whoever hastens to put on the service of God, what else does he do than prepare for a meeting with an old enemy, so that the same person, having received freedom, can withstand the blows of battle, who, when he was a prisoner under a tyrannical power, was left alone? But in this very situation, when the mind is preparing to meet an enemy, some evil may remain under its feet, and it fights with others, sometimes it happens that some evil is allowed to remain, but not so much as to cause much harm. 43. And often the mind, which overcomes many and strong contradictions, is not able to subdue one thing within itself, and this, perhaps, is very insignificant, although it persistently observes it. This, no doubt, is the consequence of God's Providence, that, being resplendent with virtue in every respect, he should not be exalted in conceit; so that, seeing in himself some insignificant thing that can be condemned, and yet not having the power to suppress it, he would never attribute the victory to himself, but only to the Creator, in that which he is able to conquer with determination; and therefore well added, Ver.9. Let its stars be obscured by darkness. 44. For the stars of this night are shadowed by darkness, when even those who already sparkle with great virtues still bear something of the dullness of sin, while they struggle with it, so that they even shine with the great brightness of life, and yet still reluctantly drag down the remnants of the night. As we have already said, this is done for the purpose that the mind, advancing to the height of its righteousness, may be better strengthened through weakness and may more sincerely shine with goodness, thanks to the same reason that, in order to humiliate it, small defects obscure it even against its will. And therefore, when the land of promise was now conquered and was to be divided among the people of Israel, the non-Christian people of Canaan are not said to have been killed, but to have become tribute to the tribe of Ephraim; as it is written: The Canaanites lived among Ephraim under tribute. [Jesus. Nav. 16, 10. Q.] What does a Canaanite, a non-Christian people mean, other than a deficiency? And often we enter the land of promise with great virtues, because we are strengthened by an inner hope that relates to eternity. But while, among sublime deeds, we retain some small shortcomings, we, as it were, allow the Canaanite to live on our land. Nevertheless, he becomes a subject, since this same deficiency, which we cannot repress, we force to answer with our modesty for our well-being, so that the mind may be inclined to its insignificance even in its highest virtues, in proportion as it cannot master even the little things it strives for. Hence it is well written again: “These are the nations whom the Lord left to test Israel through them.” [ Court. 3, 1] For this is why some of our minor faults are retained, so that our mind may always practice war cautiously and not rely on victory, since it sees the enemies still living within it, before whom it still fears to be overcome. Thus Israel learns by remaining among the nations of the Gentiles, as the exaltation of our good is hindered by some very small defects, and learns from the small things which oppose it, that it does not subdue the great defects of its own accord. 45. However, what is said: “Let his stars be darkened by darkness,” can be understood in another sense; for this night, namely, the agreement with sin, which was transmitted to us through the fall of our first parent, struck the eye of our mind with such darkness that in this life, being in exile, surrounded by the darkness of our blind condition, with whatever strength we strive for the light of eternity, we are not able to break through it; for we are born condemned sinners after the beginning of punishment [post poenam], and we come into this life with the burden of our death, and when we lift the eye of the mind to that ray of light above, we are covered only with the darkness of our natural infirmity. And indeed, many in this weak state of the flesh were strengthened by such great power of virtue that they could shine like stars in the world. Many in the darkness of this earthly life, although they demonstrate in themselves examples higher than our achievement, shine on us from above in the style of stars; but no matter how brightly they shine with their actions, no matter how much they ignite their hearts with the fire of contrition, it is clear that, remaining under the burden of this corruptible flesh, they are not able to contemplate the light of eternity as it is. So let him say: Let his stars be obscured by darkness; those. 'even those who in their reflections still feel the darkness of the old night, who seem to be already spreading the rays of their virtues over the human race in the darkness of this life, seeing that, although they are already rising to the highest heights of thought, they are still held back by the weight of the first sin. And therefore it happens that, although outside they give examples of light, like the stars, inside, being closely surrounded by the darkness of the night, they cannot rise to the certainty of motionless vision. Now the mind is often so inflamed and kindled that, although still in the flesh, it is carried to God, and every carnal imagination is subdued; and yet it is not so that he sees God as He is, since, as we have already said, the weight of the original condemnation presses upon him in a corruptible body. Often the soul strives to be absorbed as it is, in order, if possible, to achieve eternal life without the intervention of bodily death. Therefore Paul, when he was passionately seeking the inner light, but in some way feared the evil [damna] of outer death, said: For we who are in this tent of the body sigh, being burdened, because we do not want to be stripped of clothing, but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life. [ 2 Cor. 5, 4. Vulgate] Therefore, holy people strive to see the true dawn, and if this were granted, they would even reach the depth of the inner light together with the body. But no matter how passionately they strive forward, the old night still presses upon them, and those eyes of our corruptible flesh, which the cunning enemy opened to lust, the righteous Judge keeps from looking at His inner radiance. And therefore it is well added: Let it seek light and not find it, let it not see the dawn. 46. For with the force of intention with which the mind, while on this pilgrimage, tries to see the Light as it is, the force is withheld, because it is hidden from it by the blindness of its condition under the curse. [Now the 'rising of the dawn' is the brightness of the inner truth, which must always be new to us. And this night, of course, does not see, because our weakness, blind due to sin, and still being in corruptible flesh, does not ascend to that Light with which our compatriots in heaven are already illuminated. For the rising of this dawn takes place within, where the brightness of the Divine Nature is constantly revealed to the spirits of the Angels, and where the bliss of the Light is, as it were, always born, which never has an end.] [Note: This parenthetical part occurs only in the Hussanville edition and there without any indication whence it came. (B.) It is not in the Oxford manuscripts.] But the rising of the dawn is the new birth of the Resurrection, by which the Holy Church, with raised flesh, rises to behold the gaze of Immortality; for if the very Resurrection of our flesh were not, as it were, a kind of birth, the Truth would never say about it: “In the rebirth, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory.” [Matt. 19, 28 ] This is what He called renewal, He saw it as the sunrise. But with whatever dignity the Elect may now shine, they cannot penetrate and see what will be the glory of the new birth with which they will then rise with the flesh to behold the spectacle of Eternity. Hence Paul says: “Ear has not heard, nor has eye seen, neither has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.” [ 1 Cor. 2, 9 ] Let him then say: “Let him seek the light and not find it, let him not see the sunrise.” After all, our fragile nature, darkened by its spontaneous error, does not penetrate into the brightness of the inner light unless it first repays its debt by punishment through death. Next; “Because he did not close the doors to my mother’s womb, he did not remove the sadness from my eyes.” 47. As noted above, the words “it didn’t close” mean “it opened,” and “it didn’t take away” means “it brought me.” Thus, this night, i.e. sin, opened the door of the womb, because to a person conceived in sin, she unsealed the passion of lust, about which the Prophet says: “Enter your rooms and close the doors.” [Is. 26, 20] We “enter our rooms” when we enter the recesses of our heart. And we “close the doors” when we restrain forbidden lusts; and thus, since our consent opened these doors of carnal lust, it forced us to face the countless evils of our depraved condition. And now we have ever since groaned under the burden of mortality, although we came to it of our own free will, since the justice of the verdict against us requires that what we did voluntarily we should bear against our will. Further; Art. 11, 12. Why didn’t I die from the womb? Why didn't I give up my spirit when I came out of the womb? Why did my knees protect me? or why the breasts that I have to suck? 48. Far be it from us to think that blessed Job, who possessed such high spiritual knowledge and had such testifying praise from the Judge within, would have wished that he had perished in an immoral birth! But seeing that we also learn through the reward he received, that he has within himself the evidence of his strength, the weight of his words must be taken into account. 49. Now sin is committed in the heart in four ways, and in four ways it is consummated in action. Because in the heart it is accomplished through suggestion, pleasure, consent and the courage to defend. The suggestion comes from the enemy; pleasure is from the flesh; consent is from the spirit; and the courage to defend comes from pride. Sin, which should fill the mind with anxiety, only elevates it and, by throwing it down, raises it, while, by raising it, it causes it to fall more severely; and therefore that righteous image in which the first man was created was smitten by our old enemy with these four blows. Because the serpent tempted, Eve rejoiced, Adam agreed, and even when asked, he boldly refused to admit his sin. The serpent tempted because a secret enemy quietly instills evil in the heart of man. Eve was pleased because the sense of the flesh, upon hearing the voice of the serpent, immediately indulges in pleasure. Adam, who was placed above the woman, agreed, since when the flesh is carried away by pleasure, the spirit also loses its strength and gives in to its righteousness. And Adam, when asked, did not admit his sin, because, to the extent that the spirit, committing sin, breaks away from the Truth, it becomes more and more entrenched in shamelessness in its fall. Sin is also committed in the same four ways; at first the mistake is made secretly, but then it is committed openly in the sight of people without the shame of guilt, then it becomes a habit, and finally, whether through the delusion of false hope, or the obstinacy of reckless despair, it reaches full development. 50. These four kinds of sin, which either secretly occur in the heart or are committed in practice, blessed Job sees and laments the many stages of sin into which the human race has fallen, saying: Why did I not die in the womb? Why didn't I give up my spirit when I came out of the womb? Why did my knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I had to suck? For the ‘womb of conception’ was originally the language of an evil sentence. Now the sinner will ‘perish in the womb’, if only the man knew in the very sentence that he would harm himself. Nevertheless, 'he came out of the womb,' in that, as soon as the tongue conceives it in sin through its sentences, pleasure also immediately compels it to come out; and after his exit 'his knees hindered him,' because, having gone out to carnal satisfaction, he then completed the sin with the consent of the spirit, all the senses submitting, like the knees under him. And “the knees that hindered him, the breasts also fed him.” For when the soul consented to sin, the senses were drawn into service, and were followed by many discourses of vain confidence, which fed the soul born in sin with poisoned milk, and lulled it with soothing excuses, that it should not fear the bitter punishment of death. And so the first man became bolder after his sin, saying: “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate” [Gen. 3, 12]. Indeed, he fled to hide from fear, but when he was called to account, he showed how he swollen with pride while he was afraid; for when punishment is feared as the real consequence of sin, and the face of God, lost, is not loved, fear arises from arrogance [timor ex tumore], and not from a humble spirit. For he is full of pride, who does not abandon his sin if it can go unpunished. 51. But, as we have already said, sin is committed in four ways: in the heart, and also in deeds; for he says: Why did I not die in the womb? The womb for the sinner is the secret guilt of man, which conceives the sinner under the veil, and still hides its guilt in darkness. Why didn't I reject my soul when I came out of the womb? For there is a “coming out of the womb,” when the sinner is not ashamed to do what he was guilty of in secret. Thus, they, as it were, came out of the womb of their hiding place, about which the Prophet spoke; And they proclaim their sin, like Sodom, they do not hide it. Why did my knees prevent me? [Is. 3, 9] The fact is that the sinner, when not embarrassed by his malice, is strengthened in it even more thanks to the further support of the most disgusting customs. The sinner, as it were, feeds on his knees until he grows up, until sin is confirmed by habitual actions, until it gains strength. Or why should I breastfeed? For when sin once begins to become a habit, then, alas! the sinner will feed himself either with a false hope of God's mercy, or with the open folly of despair, that he can never return to reforming himself, because he either unduly embellishes for himself the pity of his Creator, or is overly frightened of the sin he has committed. Let the blessed man, then, look upon the fall of man, and note into what abyss of iniquity he has plunged, saying, “Why did I not die in the womb?” i.e. “Why did I not kill myself in the deepest working of sin in the heart by rejecting the life of the flesh?” Why didn't I give up my spirit when I came out of the womb? those. “Why, when I went into overt action, I didn’t die; then wouldn’t I have at least been instructed that I died?” For he would 'give up his spirit' in his condemnation of himself if he knew that he was lost. Why did my knees prevent me? those. “Even after the open act of sin, why, moreover, did not habit overcome me, to make me stronger to commit sin, and to nourish and support me with habitual acts of villainy?” Why the breast that I have to suck? those. “After I had entered into the habit of sin, why did I not rise to a more terrible degree of iniquity, relying on false hope or the milk of wretched despair?” For when error becomes a habit, the mind, even if inclined, for that time resists more feebly: for it is bound in the mind by as many chains as many times this evil practice oppresses it, which happens in such a way that the mind, being exhausted by force, when it has no power to free itself, turns to some tricks or false consolations to flatter itself that the Judge who comes has such great mercy that even those whom it considers worthy of condemnation, he will never completely destroy. To this is added the worst thing, that the tongue of many like him supports him, since there are many who praise these very atrocities; hence it happens that the error constantly grows, fueled by applause. Therefore, we will also neglect the treatment of a wound that is considered worthy of praise. Hence Solomon says well: “My son, if sinners call you, do not agree.” [Prov. 1, 10. B.] Because the evil ones “call” when they either palm off evil deeds on us for us to do with their temptations, or approve of them with signs of approval when they are done. Isn’t he the sucker of whom the Psalmist says: “For an evil man boasts according to the desire of his heart; and he who commits iniquity receives blessing?” [Ps. 10, 3. Vulg. 9, 24] 52. We should also know that the three ways of being sinners are more easily corrected when they go in order downwards; but the fourth is corrected with difficulty. And therefore our Savior raises up the maiden in the house, the youth outside the gate, while He raises Lazarus from the tomb; he who sins in secret lies like a dead man in the house, he is already carried out of the gate, whose sin is open, even to the shamelessness of public seduction; but he is oppressed by the grave-hill, who, as a result of sin, is further oppressed and weakened by habit. But He restores all these to life with mercy; because it often happens that Divine grace illuminates with the light of its attention those who are dead not only in secret sins, but also in open evil actions, and who are oppressed by the weight of evil habit. But our Savior actually knows about the fourth one that he is dead from the lips of the disciple, and yet he never raises him up; for it is difficult for one, whom, after continuance in a bad habit, the tongues of flatterers take into their hands, return to the life of the soul; and about this it is rightly said: Let the dead bury their dead. [ OK. 9, 60] “The dead bury the dead,” how often do sinners burden sinners with their approval. For what else is “sin” but to go to death? and “bury”, except to hide? But those who persecute the sinner with their applause bury the dead body under the hill of their words. Now Lazarus was also dead, but he was never buried by the dead. For the believing women, who also brought the news of his death to the Strengthener, laid him underground. And from here he immediately returned to the light; for when the soul is dead in sin, it soon returns if troubled thoughts dwell over it. But sometimes, as we also said above, it is not false hope that takes away the mind, but a more deadly despair that penetrates it. And since this completely takes away all hope of forgiveness, it supplies the soul with the milk of error in greater abundance. 53. Let the holy man then consider what wickedness man was guilty of, and, what is worse, after the first sin, and, after he had lost paradise, to what broken heights he had descended in this place of exile, and let him say: “Why did I not die in the womb?” i.e. “When I was conceived in sin, oh, how I wished then to know of the death that would overtake me; so that temptation does not carry me away to the land of pleasure and connect me more closely with death.” Why didn't I leave my spirit when I came out of the womb? It was as if he said: “Oh, how would I, when I reached external satisfaction, find out that I was parting with the inner light; so I could at least die [i.e. die of sin] at the point of this satisfaction, so that death would not sting more sharply through consent.” Why did my knees prevent me? It was as if he had said: “Oh, lest consent should ever catch me, my feelings would be able to restrain my pride, lest my own consent slide me even worse into shamelessness.” Or why the breasts I was supposed to suck from? It was as if he said: “Oh, that I may at least refuse to flatter myself after committing evil deeds, so as not to become even more viciously attached to my guilt when I have been gentle with myself in this.” So, in these words of reproach, he accused himself of having sinned in our first ancestors. But if man had never been brought into the misery of this place of exile for committing sin, let him say what kind of peace he might have had. Next: St. 13. For now I would only lie still and be silent; I would fall asleep and then I would be at peace. 54. For for this purpose man was placed in Paradise, so that, if he were bound by the chains of love to the obedient service of his Creator, he might one day be transported to the heavenly land of Angels, and this without the death of the flesh. For he was created immortal in such a way that, if he sinned, he would still be able to die, and thus mortal, that if he did not sin, he would even be capable of never dying, and that, through free choice, he could achieve the bliss of those realms where there is no possibility of sinning and dying. Where, from the moment of Redemption, the Elect are carried, with the death of the flesh occurring between them, to the same place our first parents, if they had remained steadfast in the state of their creation, would undoubtedly have passed, and this without the death of the body. Man would then lie motionless and be calm, he would sleep and calm down, in what, being brought to the peace of his eternal country, he would find, as it were, a distraction from this noise of human weakness. For ever since sin appeared, it seems to be kept awake and loudly crying out, who struggles with the opposition of the passions of his body. This peace of peace that man enjoyed at his creation when he was given the freedom of his will to face his enemy. And as he voluntarily gave himself to it, he immediately discovered in himself that which should have rebelled against him, immediately confronted in conflict with the seething of his fragile nature; and although he was created by his Creator in peaceful repose, yet, once willingly falling under the power of the enemy, he had to endure the cries of battle. For the very suggestion of the flesh is a kind of cry against the peace of mind, which man was not aware of before the fall, apparently because there was nothing to which he could be subjected from his weakness. But since he once voluntarily brought himself under the power of his enemy, now, being bound by the chains of his sins, he serves him in some way even against his will and suffers from inner turmoil when the flesh opposes the Spirit. Did he not hear the inner turmoil when he was pursued by the words of the evil law, contradicting itself, saying: “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members” [Rom. 7:23 ]? Let the holy man then think of the world in which he might abide if man refused to accept the words of the serpent, and let him say: “For now I could lie still and be silent, I would sleep, then I would find peace; those. I would have retired into the solitude of my soul to contemplate my Creator, if error, the first sin of consent, had not given me over to myself for the amusement of temptation”; and let him add to the joys of this state the tranquility of those with whom he would share the enjoyment of it, by saying: “With the kings and counselors of the earth.” 55. From things without meaning we learn what to think about beings endowed with meaning and understanding. Now the earth is made fertile by the air, while the air is governed by the quality of the heavens. In a similar way, man stands above the beasts, Angels above man, and Archangels are placed above the Angels. Now that man has power over beasts, we both perceive it by common use, and we are taught by the words of the Psalmist, who says: Thou hast put all things under his feet; all the sheep and oxen, and even the beasts of the field. [Ps. 8, 6. 7.] And that Angels are placed over man, the Prophet testifies, in these words: But the prince of the kingdom of Persia resisted me. [Dan. 10, 13.] And that the Angels are under the control of the authority of the higher Angels, the Prophet Zechariah proclaims; And behold, the angel who spoke to me came out, and another angel came out to meet him, and he said to him: Run, tell this young man that Jerusalem will be inhabited as cities without walls. [Zech. 2, 3. 4.] Indeed, in the present ministry of the holy spirits, if the higher Powers had not directed the lower, one Angel would never have learned from the lips of another what he should say to a person. Therefore, since the Creator of the Universe holds all things by Himself alone, and yet, with a view to establishing a certain order characteristic of a universe of beauty, He governs one part at the expense of another; we will not misunderstand that the kings are the Angelic spirits, who, the more faithfully they serve the Creator of all beings, the more things are subject to their authority. Then he would be 'at peace with kings; for, of course, man would already have peace in the company of the Angels if he had refused to listen to the language of the Tempter. These too are rightly called 'counselors', for they 'counsel' for the spiritual community, connecting us to the kingdom as fellow successors. They are rightly called 'advisers'; because from their lips we learn the will of the Creator, it is in them that we undoubtedly find advice to escape from the trouble that surrounds us here. 56. But since blessed Job is full of the Holy Spirit of Eternity, and since Eternity knows not what was or what will be, then, as we know, neither past events pass away, nor future ones approach, and, seeing all things in the present, he can, in the present inspiration of the Spirit, fix his eyes on the future preachers of the Church, who, when they leave the body, are not separated by any intervals of delay from the inheritance of the heavenly country, as was the case with the fathers of old. For soon after they are separated from the bonds of the flesh, they enter into rest in their heavenly habitation, as Paul testifies, who says: For we know that although our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not built with hands, eternal in heaven. [ 2 Cor. 5, 1 ] But before our Redeemer, by his own death, had paid the penalty for man's sin, even those who followed the ways of the heavenly country, [see Book XIII, § 49.] the barriers of hell held them fast after leaving the flesh, not that punishment should fall on them, but that, remaining in distant regions, they would discover the guilt of the first sin, which was a barrier to their entry into the kingdom, since the intercession of the Mediator had not yet come. Where, according to the testimony of the same Mediator, the rich man, who is tormented in hell, sees Lazarus resting in the bosom of Abraham. Now, if they had not been in the lower regions, he, in the place of his torment, would not have seen them; and from here this same Redeemer of us men, dying to pay the debt of our sin, descends into hell to restore to the heavenly kingdoms all his followers who were held in that debt. But where man in the state of redemption now ascends, he could reach even without the help of the Atonement, if he renounced sin. Let the holy man realize that if he had not sinned, he would have ascended to that place, even without atonement, to which holy preachers, since atonement has taken place, must come with great labor, and let him show with whom in society he would now like to be at peace, saying: with the kings and counselors of the earth. For kings are holy preachers of the Church, who know how to properly govern those entrusted to them, and how to regulate their own bodies; who, restraining within themselves the movements of lust, control their thoughts, kept in due subjection according to the law of virtue. They are also rightly called the council of the earth. For they are “kings” in that they govern themselves, but the council of the earth, because they give life-giving advice to a lifeless sinner. They are kings in that they know how to rule themselves, and of the council of the earth, in that they lead earthly minds to heavenly things through the advice of their instructions. Was he not the “counsel of the earth” who said: “Now concerning maidens I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give my assessment; and again, but she will be better off if she stays like this, in my estimation.” [ 1 Cor. 7, 25. 40.] Rightly added: “Who build waste places for themselves.” 57. All who seek forbidden things or want to express themselves a little in this world are inwardly besieged by a countless stream of thoughts, and, generating in their hearts many desires, their minds, being brought down to Earth, are pitifully trampled under the foot of the crowd. Thus one man has subjected himself to the law of lust, and he pictures in his imagination images of impure acts, and when the execution of the act is not in his power, it is done more and more often in his inner intention; the desire for pleasure is sought, and the mind, stricken with impotence, rushes hither and thither, at once alarmed and blinded, eagerly seeking out the possibility of the most disgusting execution in practice. This mind, which is disturbed by the riot of thoughts, suffers as if from overpopulation. Another person has succumbed to the power of Anger, and what is he doing in his imagination if not arguing that does not even exist? Such a person often does not notice those who are before him, contradicts those who are absent, insults and receives insults in his imagination, makes his answer more severe than the insult received, and when no one is around to meet him, he invents a quarrel in his own heart with great noise. He who is oppressed by the unbearable burden of angry thoughts has the misfortune of being rebelled in his own heart. Another has given himself over to the law of greed and, from self-satisfaction with his own goods, covets what belongs to another: it often happens that, not being able to achieve what he wants, he spends the day in idleness, but the night in thought; he is lazy in useful work because he is troubled by illegal designs; he enlarges his schemes, and opens his heart wide with all the artifices and devices of his invention; he is busy trying to achieve the objects he desires, and in order to obtain them, he seeks out the most hidden bypasses to satisfy his needs, and the moment he thinks that he has found some cunning trick for the occasion, he is already delighted with the fact that he has mastered his object, and now he invents what he can add to it when he gets there, and considers how it should be improved to a better state. And as he now possesses it, and endeavors to give it a more attractive appearance, he also considers the pitfalls of those who envy him, and ponders what dispute they can bring upon him, and thinks out what to answer, and while he has nothing in his hands, the unarmed disputant wears himself out in defending what he desires. Thus, although he does not have a single part of the desired object, nevertheless, he already has in his chest the fruit of his desire in the troubles of the dispute; and so he, who is seized by the violent impulse of greed, is surrounded by multitudes. The other has subjected himself to the power of pride, and, elevating himself above his fellows, he submits his heart to vice, his great misfortune. He longs for the crowns of high honors, he strives to exalt himself by his successes, and all that he desires to be he imagines in the secret thoughts of his heart. He already seems to be sitting in the judge's seat, already seeing the services of his subjects under his command, already shining among others, already bringing evil to one side or rewarding another for it. Already in his imagination he appears in public, surrounded by crowds, already notes with what respect he is supported in his high position; but while he fantasizes about it, he crawls alone. Now he tramples some underfoot, now he exalts others, now he satisfies his antipathies against those whom he tramples, now he receives applause from those whom he has exalted. What else does this man, who has many fanciful imaginations painted in his heart, do if he does not look at the dream with awakened eyes? And thus, since he experiences the misfortunes of so many combinations of cases that he has imagined, he clearly carries within himself the crowds generated by his desires. The other by this time has learned to avoid forbidden objects, but he is afraid that he will not have enough of the goods of this world, he strives to preserve the benefits provided to him; he is ashamed to appear the worst among people, and he is full of anxiety that he will become either a poor man at home or an object of contempt in public. He anxiously asks what can satisfy himself, what needs his dependents may require; and so that he can sufficiently fulfill the rights of a patron in relation to his dependents, he seeks patrons whom he himself can serve; but, remaining with them in relation to dependence, he is certainly involved in their affairs, in which he often agrees to forbidden acts, and evils, which he himself does not strive for, he commits for the sake of other objects that he has not abandoned. For often, fearing the diminution of his reputation in the world, he approves of those things from his superiors which in his secret judgment he has now learned to condemn. While he is anxiously reflecting on what he owes to his patrons, what to his dependents, what benefit he can obtain for himself, how he can advance his inclinations, he finds himself, as it were, overwhelmed by the influx of crowds, the number of which is equal to the demands of the cases with which he is distracted. 58. But holy people, on the other hand, since their hearts are not attached to anything in this world, are undoubtedly never subject to the pressure of any disturbances in the chest, for they drive out all immoderate impulses of desire from the bed of the heart, by means of holy meditation. And since they despise all transitory things, they do not experience the depraved intimacy of thoughts arising from them. For their desires are concentrated only on their eternal home, and loving nothing of this world, they enjoy perfect peace of mind; and therefore it is rightly said: “Who built desert places for themselves.” For “to build deserted places” means to drive out the impulses of earthly desires from the inner heart and, with the sole goal of an eternal inheritance, to thirst for the love of the inner world. If he had not expelled from himself all the raising of the imagination of the heart, whoever said: “I desire only one thing from the Lord, that will I seek; to live in the house of the Lord? [Ps. 26, 4 ] For he had gone from the confusion of earthly desires to a solitude no less than himself, where he would have been safer, seeing nothing without, in so far as there was no insufficient object that he loved. For out of the confusion of earthly things, he sought the only and perfect solitude in a quiet mind, in which he would see God more clearly, to the extent that he would see Him alone and also alone with himself. 59. Now they who “build themselves secluded places” are quite rightly also called “consuls,” for they establish the seclusion of the mind in themselves in such a way that, wherever they have more ability, they never cease to care for the good of others through charity. Accordingly, let us look a little more closely at the case of him whom we have just noticed as the “consul,” and see how he distributes tokens of [b] virtues to offer examples of exalted living for the people under his command. Note that in order to inspire the return of good for evil, he confesses by his own example, saying: If I have repaid them with evil for good, then I must fall empty before my enemies. [Ps. 7, 4] To awaken love for our Creator, he introduces himself by saying: “But it is good for me to draw near to God.” To give the impression of holy humility, he reveals the secrets of his heart, saying: “Lord, my heart is not high, and my eyes are not proud.” [Ps. 131:1 ] He encourages us by our own example to imitate his unwavering zeal, saying: “Do I not, O Lord, hate those who hate You, and am I not vexed at those who rise up against You? I hate them with absolute hatred, I consider them my enemies.” [Ps. 139:21–22 ] To kindle in us the desire for our eternal home, he laments the length of this present life and says: “Woe is me that my pilgrimage is prolonged.” [Ps. 120:5 ] Surely he showed himself in the splendor of the consulate, who by his own conduct sets before us so many examples of virtue. 60. But let this counselor say whether he is also building a secluded place for himself, because he says: “Behold, I fled far and remained in the wilderness.” He "runs far" because he rises above the crowd of earthly desires in high contemplation of God; and he "remains in the wilderness" because he persists in the design of seclusion of his mind. Jeremiah speaks well to the Lord about this solitude: “I sat alone before Your hand, because You filled me with threats.” [Jer. 15, 17] For “the face of God’s hand” is the blow of His righteous judgment, with which He expelled man from Paradise when he became proud, and shut him up in [the blindness of A.B.C.D.E.] the darkness of his present place of exile. But “His threats” are a further horror of the subsequent punishment. Accordingly, after the “face of His hand,” we are even more horrified by “His threats,” because as the punishment of our present exile has already fallen upon us in the actual experience of His judgment, and if we do not leave to sin, He will still more deliver us over to eternal torment. Let the holy man then, leaving this, consider where man has fallen from, and whither the justice of the Judge carries him still more quickly if he continues to sin hereafter, and let him cast from his bosom the countless hordes of temporary desires and plunge into the deep solitude of the mind, saying: “I sat alone before the face of Thy hand; for You have filled me with threats.” It is as if he were speaking in clear words: “When I think that I am already experiencing Your judgment, I tremblingly seek to remove my mind from the confusion of temporary desires; because I fear the even worse eternal punishments that You threaten.” It is well said then about the “kings and councilors” who built abandoned places for themselves. The fact is that they, who know how to govern themselves and advise others, while not yet being able to access that inner peace, create a semblance of it within themselves, striving for peace of mind. Art. 15. Or with princes who have gold, who fill their houses with silver. 61. Whom does he call princes, if not the rulers of the holy Church, whom God's care constantly replaces in the place of their predecessors? About them the Psalmist, addressing the same Church, says: Instead of your fathers, children will be born to you, whom you can make princes in all lands. [Ps. 45, 16] And what does he call gold if not wisdom; about which Solomon says: The desired treasure lies in the mouth of the wise? [Prov. 21, 20 ] That is, he saw wisdom as gold, and therefore called it treasure: and it is well designated by the name “gold,” for just as temporal blessings are bought with gold, so eternal blessings are bought with wisdom. If wisdom were not gold, the angel would never have said to the Church of Laodicea: I advise you to buy from me gold tested in fire. We "buy ourselves gold" when we first perform obedience in order to receive wisdom in exchange, and it is precisely this very transaction that a certain wise man definitely encourages us to say: If you desire wisdom, keep the commandments, and the Lord will give it to you. [Sir. 1, 26 ] And what do “houses” mean if not our consciences? Therefore, one who was healed was told: “Go to your house” [Matt. 9, 16]. It was as if he heard in a simple form: “After external miracles, return to your conscience and carefully weigh what kind of person inside you should appear before God.” And what does silver symbolize if not divine revelations, about which the psalmist says: “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tested in the fire”? [Ps 11:6] The word of the Lord is called silver tried by fire, because the word of God, when it takes root in the heart, is tested through adversity. 62. Let the holy man, filled with the Spirit of Eternity, sum up what must be, and gather in the open bosoms of his mind all those who will be born during the long ages, and consider with admiration and wonder those Elect souls with whom he would enjoy the rest of eternal life without the weariness of labor, if no one led him into sin under the influence of the passion of pride, and let him say: “For now I should lie calm and quiet; I should have been sleeping; Then I would have been at peace with the kings and counselors of the earth, who built desolate places for themselves, or with the princes who had gold and filled their houses with silver. For if no corruption of sin had ever destroyed our first parent, he would not have begotten of himself the children of hell, but all of them who are now to be saved through the Atonement would have been born of him Chosen souls, and no other, let him look at these and consider how he could be at ease in their company. Let him see the holy Apostles so governing the Church which they undertook that they never ceased to advise it through the word of preaching, and so calls them kings and counselors. After these words, let him see how rulers arise in their place, who, living according to wisdom, should possess gold, and preaching the right ways to others, should shine with the silver of sacred conversation, and let him call them true princes, whose houses of conscience are full of gold and silver. But since sometimes it is not enough for the Spirit of Prophecy to foresee the future, unless at the same time he presents to the gaze of the prophet the past and the past, the holy man opens his eyes down and up, and not only fixes them on the future, but also remembers the past. For he immediately adds: “Or as a hidden improper pregnancy I would not be; like babies who have never seen the light." 63. A slaughtered child, because it was born before full term, being dead, is immediately removed from view. Who then does the holy man call “killers,” with whom he could “rest,” he reflects, preserving all the Chosen who, from the beginning of the world, lived until the time of Redemption and nevertheless tried to kill themselves for this world. Those who did not have the tables of the Law “died,” as if “from the womb,” since precisely, according to natural law, they feared their Creator, and believing that the Mediator would come, they tried with all their might, killing their pleasures, to fulfill even those commandments that they did not receive in writing. And so, this period, which at the beginning of the world produced our fathers dead to this life, was in a certain sense "the womb of slaughter." For there we have Abel, of whom we do not read that he opposed his brother when he killed him. There's Enoch, who was so humbled that he was lifted up to walk with the Lord. There Noah, who thereby, because he was acceptable to the careful judgment of God, became the world's survivor of the world. There is Abraham, who, being a pilgrim in the world, became a friend of God. There is Isaac, who, due to his carnal eyes, dimming with age, did not have sight of present things, but thanks to the action of the prophetic Spirit, illuminated the future of the century, even with his extraordinary light of vision. There Jacob, who in humility fled from the indignation of his brother and overcame him with kindness; who was indeed fruitful in his posterity, and yet, being yet more fruitful in the riches of the Spirit, chained that seed with the chains of prophecy. And this premature birth is well described as hidden, for since the beginning of the world, although there are some few of whom we have been informed by the mention of Moses, the vast majority of mankind has been hidden from our sight. For it must not be supposed that during the whole period before the receipt of the Law only as many righteous people appeared as Moses indicated in his summary. And since the multitude of righteous people born since the beginning of the world is largely hidden from our knowledge, this undeserved birth is called hidden. It is also said that he did not exist because only a few are listed and most of them are not preserved among us by any written records for their memory. 64. Now this is rightly added; like babies who have never seen the light. For they who came into this world after receiving the Law were conceived before their Creator by the direction of the same Law; and yet, although they were conceived, they never saw the light, since these could never attain to the coming of the Incarnation of the Lord, in which they insistently believed; for the Incarnate Lord says: I am the Light of the world [Jn. 8, 12 ]; and this same Light declares: Many Prophets and righteous people wanted to see what you see, and did not see it. [Matt. 13, 17 ] Therefore the fruit 'conceived never saw the light in the sense that, although animated by the hope of a future Mediator by the clear statements of the Prophets, they could never see His Incarnation. In all these cases the inner conception gave birth to a form of faith, but never carried it to an open vision of the Presence of God; for this death intervened and carried them away from the world before the Truth had come and shed light on it. 65. Thus, a holy man, full of the spirit of Eternity, remembers with all his heart everything that is transitory; and since every creature is small in comparison with the Creator, the same Spirit, who has nothing in himself or around him except to be, he looks both over the future and past, and directs his mind both downward and upward, and, considering future things to be like things past, he burns in the depths of his heart towards the eternal Being and says: 'Now I should lie still and be at peace.' After all, “now” belongs to the present time, and what else can a person seek for peace, which always abides in the present, if not to thirst for the bliss of eternity, where there is nothing in coming or going? What always Is - Truth, through the mouth of Moses, shows as Its own property, so as to communicate it to us in some degree with the words: 'I AM AM', and He said: 'So say to the children of Israel: 'THE I AM' has sent me to you'; and now, as he contemplates transitory things and seeks everlasting bliss, and mentions the light that is to come, and enumerates and considers the orders of the Chosen Children, let him now show us in a little clearer terms the very being which pertains to that light, and let him show in clearer words what is daily happening there, touching the life and conduct of the wicked. Ongoing; Art. 17. There the wicked cease to worry, and there those who are weary from strength rest. 66. We have already said above that in this, namely, that the hearts of sinners are filled with confusion of desires, they are heavily oppressed with many painful thoughts, but in this light, which the babes have raised, the wicked say that they “cease their anxiety,” for this reason that the coming of the Mediator, whom the fathers under the Law had long awaited, the Gentiles found for the salvation of their lives, as Paul testifies, who says that Israel did not receive what they sought, but the choice received it. [Rom. 11, 7 ] In this light, therefore, "the wicked cease their trouble," for the minds of the disobedient, when they come to the knowledge of the truth, escape the weary desires of the world, and find rest in the calm haven of inward love. Is it not the light itself that calls us to this rest when He says: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest; take the yoke from Me and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls; for My yoke is a light burden.” [Matt. 11, 28–30] And what a heavy yoke He places on the neck of our mind, Who tells us to avoid every desire that causes anxiety? What heavy burden does He lay upon His followers, Who warns us to turn aside from the weary ways of the world? Now, according to the testimony of the Apostle Paul, Christ died for the ungodly; [Rom. 5, 6] and it is for this reason that the Light Himself condescended to die for the wicked, so that they would not continue to be in the disorder of their state of darkness. So let the holy man reflect with himself that by the mystery of the Incarnation the "Light" saves the wicked from toil, while He completely delivers their hearts from all purposes of malice; let him think how every converted man, already here on earth, tastes, through inner peace, that peace which he desires to have throughout eternity, and let him say, there the wicked cease from restlessness, and those who are weary with strength find rest. 67. For all who are strong in this world are strong in one respect by their strength, without growing weary in strength; but those who are empowered in the love of their Creator, the more they are strengthened in the love of God, which is their object of desire, the more they become powerless in their own strength, and the stronger their desire for eternal things, the more they become weary of earthly objects through a healthy decline in their strength. Therefore the psalmist, weary of the strength of his love, said: My soul is faint in [or to, as in V.] Thy salvation. [Ps. 119, 81] For his soul fainted when he sought the path in the salvation of God, since he thirsted for the light of eternity, deprived of all confidence in the flesh. Therefore he says again: My soul yearns, yea, even fainteth, for the courts of the Lord. [Ps. 84, 2] Now, when he said “yearns,” he correctly added, and “exhausts,” since that desire for the Divine Being is very small, which is not accompanied by immediate exhaustion in oneself. For it is fitting that he who was inflamed with desire to seek the courts of eternity should be weakened in love for this earthly state. So he must be cold to the pursuit of this world, in the same measure as he rises with a more fervent soul to the love of God. If he fully embraces this love, then at the same time he completely leaves the world, and the more he dies to temporal things, the higher he rises in the desire for eternal life under the inspiration of Eternity. Was not that soul weary in its own strength, which exclaimed: My soul [sic V.] melted when he spoke; [Song. 5, 6] it is evident that when the soul touches the inspiration of secret communication, weakened in its own fortification, it 'melts' with the desire in which it is absorbed, and feels exhausted within itself by the same step by which it comes to realize that there is a power outside itself to which it ascends. Therefore, when the Prophet said that he saw a vision of God, he adds: “And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for several days”; [Dan. 8, 27] for when the soul is held by the power of God, the flesh is weakened in relation to its own strength. So Jacob, who held the Angel, soon after limped on one leg; for he who looks upon higher things with sincere love already refuses to walk in this world with a double heart. For he who is strong in the love of God stands on one leg; and it is necessary that the other should wither, for when the virtue of the soul strengthens, it is natural that the strength of the flesh weakens. Let blessed Job then search the deep bowels of the hearts of believers and consider the haven of inner peace which they find while, advancing towards God, they are exhausted in their own strength, and let him say: “There the weary rest in strength.” It was as if he were teaching in simple words: 'The peace of light there is the reward for those who are weary of the progress of inner restoration here.' And it should not affect us that after mentioning the light he did not add 'in this', but 'there', for what he sees, surrounding the Chosen, he reveals as our place, so to speak. Hence the Psalmist, reflecting on the immutability of Eternity and saying: 'But You are the same, and Your years will not end;' [Ps. 101, 28] declares that this is the place of the Chosen, adding: 'But the children of Thy servants shall dwell there.' For God, who embraces everything without location, remains a place without locality for us who come to Him. And when we reach this place, our eyes are opened to see what endless sorrow even our very peace of mind has had in this life, for although the righteous, compared with the wicked, already enjoy peace, yet, appreciating the deep Peace, they are not at all at peace. Therefore, it is well added: 'The former prisoners there are also without alarm.' 68. For although the righteous are not subject to the violence of carnal desires, yet the burden of corruption fetters them in this life with heavy chains; for it is written: “For the corruptible body oppresses the soul, and the earthly shell oppresses the mind, which ponders many things.” [ Prem. 9, 15 ] Thus, even in that they are still mortal beings, they are burdened with the burden of their state of corruption, and shackled and bound by its fetters, in that they have not yet risen in this freedom of imperishable being. For they are faced with one from the mind and another from the body, and they are exhausted every day by internal conflict with themselves. Are they not bound by truly cruel chains of uneasiness, whose minds easily disintegrate in ignorance and are not trained without the effort of labor? When forced, he stands erect, of himself he lies prone, and, quite soon rising, he immediately falls, conquering himself with difficulty, his eyes open to heavenly things, but, recoiling, he flees from the light that illuminated him. Are they not firmly bound by the rigid chains of anxiety, when their ardent soul draws them with perfect desire to the depths of inner peace, suffering from the disturbances of the flesh in the heat of conflict? And although it now no longer confronts him face to face, as if stretched out with a hostile front, it still murmurs like a prisoner behind the mind, and, although with apprehensions, still defiles with a vile hum the form of beautiful calm in the chest. Therefore, although the Chosen defeat all enemies with a strong hand, as they strive for the security of the inner world, it is still a heavy burden for them to have something that still needs to be overcome. And leaving these questions aside, they endure, moreover, those chains that harsh necessity externally imposes on them; for to eat, to drink, and to be weary are chains of corruption, and chains also, which can never be broken, except when our mortal nature is changed into the glory of an immortal nature; for we fill our body with food to support it, lest it be exhausted through exhaustion; and we exhaust it with abstinence so that it does not oppress with excess. We speed it up with movement, so that it is not destroyed by lying motionless, but, having placed it, we quickly stop its movements, so that by this very activity it does not break. We dress him in clothes as a help so that the cold does not destroy him, and we throw off these much-desired help so that the heat does not dry him out. Subject then to so many vicissitudes and accidents, what do we do, in addition to how we pull towards the decay of our being, which, no matter how many services are rendered to it, supports that body, which, care for a fragile nature, subject to change, is drawn to the earth. Therefore Paul says well: For the creation was given up to vanity, not voluntarily, but according to the will of Him who subjected it in hope. For creation itself will be liberated from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of the sons of God. [Rom. 8, 20. 21.] For “the creation became subject to vanity, not of its own free will,” since man, who of his own free will abandoned the firmness bestowed upon him by nature, being oppressed by the weight of a well-deserved mortality, becomes an involuntary slave to the corruption of his changeable condition. But this creation is then freed from the slavery of corruption when, having been resurrected, it ascends incorruptible to the glory of the sons of God. Here, then, the Chosen are darkened by the fact that they are still burdened by the curse of their corrupt state. But when we shed our corruptible flesh, we seem to be freed from the shackles of obscurity by which we are now bound. For we have long been striving to come to the face of God, but we are still held back by the burden of a mortal body. So we are rightly called ‘prisoners’ because we do not yet have the path of desire to God before us. Hence Paul, whose heart was set on eternal things, yet, being in chains, exclaims: I have a desire to be set free and to be with Christ. [Phil. 1:23 ] For he would not have desired to be ‘set free’ if he had not seen himself in bondage. Now, since he saw that these bonds were likely to soon be broken at the Resurrection, the Prophet rejoiced as if they were already broken when he said: You have loosed my bonds. I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving. [Ps. 116, 16 ] Let a holy man reflect that the inner light is the refuge which receives converted sinners, and let him say: There the wicked cease their miseries. Let him reflect that holy men, weary of the strivings of desire, enjoy the deepest peace in this inner womb, and let him say: And there the weary in strength rest. Let him reflect that, being freed from all the fetters of corruption at once and together, they attain to those imperishable joys of freedom. And former prisoners are like those who do not feel grief. And it is correct to say that the former prisoners, for as long as this ever-present bliss is before their eyes, everything that happens and what happens [B. 'and it will pass], seems as if it were the past. For while the end of all things is awaited, everything that disappears is considered to have already happened. But let him tell you what all of them, for whom inner peace is prepared there, have done here in the meantime. Continues: They did not hear the voice of the collector. [non exaudierunt] 69. Who else is to be understood by the title of "collector" than this insatiable motivator, who once bestowed upon mankind the coin of deceit, and has since continued every day to collect the debt of death? Who gave man the money of sin in paradise, but, multiplying his atrocities, demands it every day with interest? The truth speaks about this exactor in the Gospel: “And the Judge will bring you to the exactor [Lk. 12, 58]. Therefore, the voice of this exactor is a temptation to persuade to our detriment. And we hear the voice of the seeker when we are struck by his temptation, but we do not perceive it effectively [exaudimus] if we resist the hand that strikes, for he “hears” the one who feels the temptation, but the one who succumbs to the temptation effectively hears. So let it be said about the righteous: they did not hear the voice of the seeker; for although they hear his prompting in that they are tempted, they do not hear it effectually, because they are ashamed to yield, but since everything that the mind loves with great affection is often repeated even in the utterance of the mouth; blessed Job, as he sees the crowds of the inner world with the fullness of affection, again turns to the description [or distinction] of it, saying: 'The small and the great are there; the servant is free from his master. 70. Since in this life we ​​have differences in deeds, surely in the Hereafter there will be differences in degrees of merit, so that while here one is superior to another in merit, there one may be superior to another in reward. Therefore, the Truth says in the Gospel: “In My Father’s house are many mansions.” [In. 14, 2] But in these “many mansions” the very variety of rewards will be in some way in harmony. After all, such a powerful influence unites us in this world in the world that what someone could not receive in himself, he rejoices in receiving in another. And so those who did not work equally in the vineyard all receive one denarius. And indeed, the Father has “many mansions,” and yet unequal workers receive the same denarius, because the blessedness of joy will be the same for everyone, but not the same height of life for everyone. He saw the small and the great in this light, who said in the voice of the Head: “Thy eyes have seen My substance, although imperfect, and in Thy Book were all My members written.” [Ps. 139, 16] He saw “the small and the great together” when he declared: “He will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great.” [Ps. 115, 13] And this is well added, and the servant is free from his master. For it is written: Everyone who sins is a servant of sin [Jn. 8, 34]. For whoever succumbs to a bad desire brings the neck of his mind, now free, under the power of malice. Now we confront this master when we resist the evil by which we have been seized, when we resist with strength a bad habit and, trampling upon all perverted desires, we assert the right to innate freedom, when we smite our sin with repentance and cleanse the stains of defilement with tears. But it often happens that the mind is already grieving over what it remembers what it did wrong, which not only abandons its misdeeds, but even punishes them with the most bitter complaints, however, when it remembers what it has done, it is frightened and greatly embarrassed before the Court. He already turns with perfect intention, but does not yet rise in a perfect state of security, because, weighing the strict precision of the final test, he trembles with anxiety between hope and fear, for he does not know when the righteous Judge comes, what He will judge, what He will leave out of the works that have been completed. For he remembers what evil deeds he has committed, but cannot say whether he has worthily mourned their commission, and is afraid that the severity of sin will not exceed the measure of repentance. And very often it happens that the Truth already forgives sin, but the anxious soul, being in complete anxiety about itself, still trembles for the forgiveness of it. Thus, in this earthly life, the servant is already saved from his master, but he is not free from him, because, being subjected to punishment and repentance, a person has already abandoned his sin, but he is still afraid of the strict Judge for his retribution. Then the servant will be free from his master, when there will be no more doubt as to the forgiveness of sin, when the remembrance of his sin will no longer condemn the soul, now provided for, when the conscience does not tremble under the weight of guilt, but rejoices at forgiveness in a state of freedom. 72. But if a man is not conscious of his sin, how can he congratulate himself on having been saved from it? Or how can he thank his Benefactor for the forgiveness he has received, if, through a sudden forgetfulness of his past misdeeds, he does not know that he must suffer punishment? We must not neglect what the Psalmist says: I will sing of the mercy of the Lord forever. [Ps. 88, 1] How can he “sing of the mercies of God forever,” if he does not know that he was miserable; and if he has no memory of past sufferings, how can he respond with praise to the gift of mercy? And again, we must ask, how can the consciousness of the Elect be in perfect bliss if, in the midst of its joys, the memory of its sin comes to it? Or how does the radiance of unquenchable light appear when it is obscured by the sin that is remembered? But you should know that just as sometimes we remember sad things in joy, so in the future life we ​​will return the memory of past sins without any harm to our bliss. After all, it very often happens that during a period of health we remember past pains without feeling pain, and to the extent that we remember ourselves as sick, the more we embrace ourselves in health. And so in this blissful state there will be a remembrance of sin, not such as to pollute the mind, but to bring us still nearer to our joy, so that when the mind without pain remembers its pain, it may be still more clearly aware of itself as a debtor to the physician, and consequently value the health it has received even more in proportion to how it remembers that it has escaped the heaviness. And then, being in this state of bliss, we reason about our evil deeds without disgust, just as now, being placed in the light, without any inner blindness of the heart, we see darkness with our mind; for although what we perceive with the imagination is dim, it comes from the judgment of light, and not from the misfortune of blindness. And so throughout eternity we give praise to our Benefactor for His mercy, but at the same time we do not feel oppressed by the consciousness of misfortune; for, though we consider our wickednesses without any evil, menace to the mind, on the one hand, there will never be anything that can defile the hearts that give glory to past iniquities, on the other hand, there will always be something that will spur them to the praise of Their Savior. Therefore, since the peace of the inner light thus carries the great into itself, without leaving the small, it is fair to say that both the small and the great are there. Now, since the mind of the converted sinner is there touched by the remembrance of his sin in such a way that he is not oppressed by any confusion from that recollection, it is fitly added: And the servant is free from his master.