Moralia in Job 846

12. 'Evil rich men, though united in oppressing the righteous, are yet by their cupidities sundered from one another.' — For the tops of the ears of grain are the beards. Now the beards, joined together in the ear, come forth, but by growing a little, they, being rough and stiff, are disjoined from one another. So indeed, so do the evil rich rise up unto the glory of this world. For by nature they are joined together in fellowship, but by growing against one another they are divided. For one despises another, and one is inflamed against another with the torches of envy. They therefore who, by the swelling of the mind, separate themselves from the unity of charity, stand as it were stiff against one another after the manner of the beards. What then shall I call the evil rich of this world, but certain beards of the human race?

For while they are proud against one another, yet they with one accord afflict the life of the good; they are indeed divided against themselves, but nevertheless in concord press down the grains beneath. 13. 'The reprobate are now raised up after the manner of beards; the elect lie hidden like grains.' — Now therefore the beards leap up on high, the grains lie hidden, because both the power of the reprobate is eminent, and the glory of the elect appears not. Those show themselves in the loftinesses of the good; these press themselves down in humility. But the time of threshing shall come, which shall both break the stiffness of the beards, and shall not crush the solid grains.

For then indeed the pride of the wicked is broken to pieces, then it is declared with how great integrity the life of the elect shines, because when the unjust fail, from this very crushing of the beards it comes to pass that the grains appear which lay hidden. And when the beards are broken, the whiteness of the grains is shown, because, while the wicked fall into eternal torments, with how great truth the righteousness of the saints shines white is demonstrated. Whence it is also said through John: 'Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly cleanse His floor; and He will gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire' (Matt. III, 12; Luke III, 17).

Let blessed Job therefore behold with how great a stroke the elation of the wicked is broken, and, comparing them to the perishing beards, let him say: 'They shall be crushed like the tops of the ears of grain,' because indeed the stiffness of the proud, which now is exalted despising the life of the elect, is broken by the utmost force of the threshing. There follows: