Moralia in Job 195

Verse 8. 'Let them curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.' 14. His malice is already destroyed by Christ; at the end of the world his power shall be extinguished. In the old translation it is not so stated, but: 'Let him curse it who cursed the day, who is about to capture the great whale.' By which words it is plainly shown that the destruction of Antichrist to come at the end of the world is foreseen by the holy man. For the malignant spirit, who by merit is night, feigns himself to be day at the end of the world, when he displays himself to men as though he were God, when he falsely arrogates to himself the brightness of Divinity, and exalts himself above all that is called or worshipped as God. He therefore curses the night, who curses the day;

for He now destroys his malice, who by the illumination of His coming shall then also extinguish the power of his strength. Whence it is also well added: 'Who is about to capture the great whale.' For the strength of this whale is captured in the waters, because the cunning of the ancient enemy is overcome by the sacrament of baptism. 15. His elect angels point out to us the darkness of his deceit. But what in the old translation is said of the Author of all things, this in the present translation, which has come down to us from the Hebrew and Arabic tongue, is recorded of His elect angels (consult what we said in Book 35, chapter formerly 13, on verse 14, on the last chapter of Job). For of these it is said: 'Let them curse it who curse the day.' [Recension

XIII] For this proud spirit wished to display himself as day even to the angelic powers, when, exalting himself above the rest as though in the power of Divinity, he drew after himself so many legions to destruction. But these, assuredly, who stood fast with humble heart in their Author, when they perceived that night was in his error, trampled underfoot the day of that brightness of his by thinking humbly of themselves: who now point out to us the darkness of his deceit, and demonstrate how despicable is his feigned brightness. Let it therefore be said of the dark night, which closes the eyes of human infirmity:

'Let them curse it who curse the day'; that is, let those elect spirits denounce the darkness of his error as worthy of condemnation, who see that the greatness of his brightness was feigned from the very beginning. And it is well added: 'Who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.' Leviathan, indeed, is by interpretation said to be 'their addition.' Whose, namely, save men's? And it is rightly called 'their addition,' because after he brought in the first fault by evil suggestion, he does not cease to increase it daily by graver persuasions. Or certainly he is called Leviathan by way of reproach, that is, said to be 'the addition of men.' For he found them immortal in paradise;

but by promising divinity to the immortal, he pledged as it were to add to them something beyond what they were. But while he flatteringly professed that he would give what was not possessed, he craftily took away even what was possessed. Whence the prophet also thus describes this same Leviathan, saying: 'Upon Leviathan the bar-serpent, upon Leviathan the crooked serpent' (Isaiah 27:1). For this Leviathan, in that he pledged to add to man, crept toward him with crooked coils; because while he falsely promised things impossible, he truly took away things possible as well. [Old recension

XII] But we must ask why he who had said 'serpent,' and immediately adding 'crooked,' inserted 'bar,' unless perhaps because in the twisting of the serpent there is fluid softness, but in the bar there is the hardness of rigidity. Therefore, that he might mark him as both hard and soft, he names both a bar and a serpent. For he is hard through malice, soft through blandishments. He is called a bar, therefore, because he strikes even unto death; but a serpent, because he insinuates himself softly through ambushes. 16. The elect spirits of the angels now press down the devil, shut up in the pit of the abyss. Whence it is written:

'I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand: and he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss' (Revelation 20:1-2 and following). Yet at the end of the world they call him back to more open combats, and loose him wholly against us in his own strength. Whence there also it is again written: 'When the thousand years shall be completed, Satan shall be loosed' (Revelation 20:7). For that apostate angel, because he had been so created as to excel the rest of the legions of angels, so fell by pride that now he is subjected to the dominion of the standing angels;

so that either now, for our benefit, he may lie bound while they minister, or then, for our testing, he may, being loosed while they relax their hold, exert himself with all his strength against us. Since therefore these elect spirits press down the proud apostate—those who humbly refused to follow him—and it is arranged by their ministry that he is at some time called back to be utterly destroyed for the purpose of open combat, let it rightly be said: 'Who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.' Yet since the crafty enemy is not yet roused up to open wars, let it suggest how that night now secretly darkens the minds of some. There follows: