Moralia in Job 238

Verse 6. — Where is your fear, your fortitude, and your patience, and the perfection of your ways? 33. The four degrees of the virtues. — All of which things he substitutes for the sentence which he set forth before, saying: But now the blow has come upon you, and you have failed; it has touched you, and you are confounded. He asserts, then, that all these have perished together, in that he reproaches blessed Job as confounded by the scourge. But it must be carefully observed that, although he rebukes unfittingly, he nevertheless narrates the orders of the virtues fittingly. For by four degrees he distinguished the life of blessed Job in enumerating his virtues, since he joined fortitude to fear, and patience to fortitude, and perfection to patience.

For in the way of God one begins from fear, so that one may come to fortitude. For just as in the way of the world boldness begets fortitude, so in the way of God boldness begets weakness; and just as in the way of the world fear begets weakness, so in the way of God fear begets fortitude, as Solomon attests, who says: In the fear of the Lord is the confidence of fortitude (Prov. 14:26). For the confidence of fortitude is said to be in the fear of the Lord, because assuredly our mind despises the terrors of temporal things the more powerfully, the more truly it subjects itself through dread to the Author of those same temporal things. And this mind, established in the fear of the Lord, finds nothing outside that it should dread, because while by right dread it is joined to the Maker of all, it is raised up by a certain power above all things.

But fortitude is shown only in adversity, whence also patience is at once substituted after fortitude. For each one demonstrates that he has more truly advanced to fortitude, the more robustly he bears the evils of others. For he has less prevailed within himself whom another's iniquity lays low. He who, in that he is unable to bear contrariety, lies pierced through by the sword of his own faint-heartedness. But because perfection is born of patience, immediately after patience the perfection of ways is brought in. For that man is truly perfect who is not impatient toward the imperfection of his neighbor. For he who, being unable to bear another's imperfection, deserts him, is himself a witness to himself that he does not yet perfectly advance.

Hence in the Gospel Truth says: In your patience you shall possess your souls (Luke 21:19). For what is it to possess one's soul, but to live perfectly in all things, to rule over all the motions of the mind from the citadel of virtue? He, therefore, who holds patience possesses his soul; because from that source he is made strong against all adversities, from which, by conquering his very self, he also rules over himself. And whereby he laudably breaks himself, unbroken he strongly puts himself forth; because when he overcomes himself in his own pleasures, he prepares himself unconquered for things contrary. But because Eliphaz corrected him by inveighing against him, now he adds certain things as though exhorting, saying: