Moralia in Job 390

The same. And at its rising its bud comes forth. 77. As soon as he does right, the hypocrite wishes to be praised. Having assumed the habit of holiness, he sometimes becomes worse. Any plant whatever, in springing up, is first produced from the earth, is touched by the breeze and the heat, is nourished by sun and rains, and then at last is opened for the putting forth of its seed's bud. But the rush is born with its flower, and as soon as it rises from the earth, it produces along with it the bud of its seed. Well therefore by the other plants is any holy man designated, but by the rush the hypocrite, because righteous men, before they arise in the work of holy conversation, endure the winter of this life, and the heats of grievous persecutions weary them;

but when they do right things, they in no way seek here the reward of their uprightness; and when they depart from the labours of the present world, coming to the eternal homeland, they enjoy the awaited retribution. But on the contrary the hypocrite, because he is soon born into good work, endeavours to receive the glory of the present world. As it were after the manner of the rush he arises with its bud, who, for the reason that he begins to live well, seeks straightway to be honoured by all. The bud therefore at its rising is recompense at the beginning. For often some forsake the ways of open depravity, take up the habit of holiness; and as soon as they have touched the first thresholds of living well, forgetting who they had been, they will not now be afflicted through penance for the wickednesses they have consummated;

but they desire to be praised for the righteousness they have begun, they covet to preside even over their betters. Whom very often, while present prosperity follows them according to their wish, become much worse than they had been before, from the habit of holiness. For occupied with manifold affairs, and confused by that very occupation, they not only in no way bewail their past deeds, but even heap up things to be bewailed. 78. The recent convert, or the hypocrite, is not to be advanced to outward offices. Our goods perish if too quickly disclosed. For those who forsake the world ought not to be advanced to outward offices, unless through humility they are first for a longer time made firm in contempt of that same world.

For goods perish more quickly which become known to men before their time, because even shrubs planted, before they take root and coalesce with a fixed root, if a shaking hand touches them, wither. But if the root is fixed deep, and, sprinkled with the moistures of the earth, is made firm, both the hand pushes it, but does not injure it; and the blasts of the winds shake it by bending, but do not overturn it. Lest therefore the life of the work begun be uprooted, the root of the heart must be fixed long and robustly in the depth of humility, so that when from the human mouth the breeze either of detraction or of favour shall have blown, even if it bends it in whatever direction somewhat, it may not tear the mind up by the roots; but may return to its own state straightway after the bending, if within itself it endures strong in its root.

What among growing things is more robust than a rising wall? Which nevertheless, if it be pushed while it is being built, is straightway destroyed without labour; but if for a space of time it is allowed to be dried out from its moisture, often it is not even in the least shaken by the blows of rams. Just so, clearly, our goods both perish when untimely made manifest, and are made firm when longer hidden, because the hand of human occupation, when it shall have touched the beginning life of our conversation, pushes it as it were a fresh wall, and easily destroys it, because it has not yet lost the moisture of its own infirmity.

But when the mind compresses itself in the long rejection of its own repose, it hardens against blows as it were after the manner of a dried wall, and everything solid that strikes it straightway rebounds shattered. Hence it is that Moses forbade the life of beginners to be exercised in human occupations, saying: You shall not work with the firstling of the ox, nor shall you shear the firstlings of the sheep (Deut. 15:19). For to work with the firstling of the ox is to display the first beginnings of good conversation in the exercise of public action. And to shear the firstlings of the sheep is to strip bare to human eyes our beginning goods from the covering of their concealment.

In the firstling of the ox therefore we are forbidden to work, and we are restrained from shearing the firstlings of the sheep, because even if we begin something robust, we ought not too quickly to exercise it in the open. And when our simple life begins something innocent, it is fitting that it not abandon the veils of its secret, lest it show this naked to human eyes as though with the fleece drawn off. 79. The beginnings of a good life are to be dedicated to God alone. Why they ought not become known too quickly. To the divine sacrifices alone therefore let the firstlings of oxen and of sheep be devoted, so that whatever chance and innocent thing we begin, we may immolate this to the honour of the inmost Judge upon the altar of the heart.

Which without doubt is received by Him the more willingly, the more, being concealed from men, it is stained by no appetite for praise. But often the beginnings of a new conversation are as yet commingled with the carnal life; and therefore they ought not become known too quickly, lest when the goods that please are praised, the mind, deceived by its own praise, be unable to detect in them the evils that lie hidden. Whence it is again rightly said through Moses: When you shall have entered the land which I will give you, and shall have planted in it fruit-bearing trees, you shall take away their foreskins. The fruits which they bud shall be unclean to you, nor shall you eat of them (Lev. 19:23). For fruit-bearing trees are works fruitful in virtues.

We take away therefore the foreskins of the trees when, being suspicious of the very infirmity of our beginning, we do not approve the first beginnings of our works. But the fruits which they bud we count unclean, and do not fit them for our eating, because when the beginnings of good work are praised, it is fitting that this should not feed the mind of the one working; lest while praise received is sweetly plucked, the fruit of the work be untimely eaten. He therefore who shall have received praise from the human mouth for a virtue begun, as it were eats the apple of the planted tree before its time. 80. The hypocrite seeks witnesses of his work; if they be not present, he thinks he has lost his labour. Hence through the Psalmist Truth says: It is vain for you to rise before the light; rise after you have sat (Ps. 126:2).

For to rise before the light is, before the brightness of eternal retribution appears, to rejoice in the night of the present life. We must therefore first sit, that we may afterward rightly rise, because whoever now does not of his own accord humble himself, the following glory in no way exalts him. That which there is to rise before the light, this here for the hypocrite is to put forth the bud at its rising, because, desiring human praises, where he is born to good work, there he straightway seeks to attain the glory of retribution. Did they not put forth the bud at their rising, of whom Truth said: They love the first places at feasts, and the first seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the marketplace, and to be called rabbi by men (Luke 20:46; Matt. 23:6, 7)?

For the reason therefore that they begin to act well, because they endeavour to obtain honour from men, as it were after the manner of the rush they rise up from their rising with a bud. These indeed, when they desire to work right things, first with anxious mind seek witnesses of that same work of theirs, and with silent thought consider whether there are those who may see the things to be done, whether those who have seen them may be able worthily to relate them. But if perchance no man happen to behold their deeds, they without doubt esteem these to have been lost; and they reckon the eyes of the inward Arbiter as it were absent, because they refuse to receive from Him the return of their work in the future. And since when the hypocrite has done anything right, he seeks to be seen by many, it is well further added concerning this rush: